Hyundai to deploy fuel cell electric trucks for freight distribution in California
Hyundai Motor Company announced its plan to deploy the company’s latest hydrogen fuel cell electric heavy-duty trucks in California, for two publicly funded projects to improve the air quality in the region. The demo trucks that Hyundai will bring into the United States are developed based on XCIENT Fuel Cell, the world’s first mass-produced, heavy-duty truck powered by hydrogen.
Debuting last year in Switzerland, XCIENT Fuel Cell has proven its commercial viability through more than one million kilometers of driving in real-world conditions. The U.S. model provides a maximum driving range of 500 miles, or about 800 kilometers. Hyundai will leverage insights gained from these public projects to develop it’s zero-emission commercial fleet business in the U.S. and establish local partnerships across the value chain.
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Deploying 30 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks in northern California by early 2023
Hyundai Motor teamed with public and private partners in the U.S. to operate 30 units of Class 8 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, starting from the second quarter of 2023. This will be the largest commercial deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in the U.S.
A consortium led by the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Hyundai Motor recently won $22 million in grants from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) and $7 million in additional grants from the Alameda County Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in support of this project.
Hyundai’s NorCAL ZERO project, also known as Zero-Emission Regional Truck Operations with Fuel Cell Electric Trucks, will deploy 30 units of Class 8 XCIENT Fuel Cell, with a 6×4 drive axle configuration, to northern California by the second quarter of 2023. Glovis America, a logistics service provider, will be the fleet operator of these trucks. Macquarie’s Specialized and Asset Finance business, part of its Commodities and Global Markets division, will finance the trucks through a lease to the operator.
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