Hyundai, Nikola and Toyota Start to Build the Hydrogen Highway

Biofuels Engine Design, Business News/Analysis, Infrastructure, Japan, Logistics, R & D Focus, South Korea, Sustainability, Switzerland, Vehicle/Engine/Motor

November 13, 2019

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by Jerry Hirsch (Trucks) Hyundai Motor Co. has an ambitious plan to wean the global trucking industry from fossil fuels by creating green commercial trucks with the same power and range as their diesel counterparts.

The South Korean automaker unveiled the cornerstone of its strategy in Atlanta last month by showing the concept of its planned HDC-6 Neptune hydrogen fuel cell truck. Styled like a 1930s Art Deco steam locomotive, the truck could be plying U.S. highways by 2024.

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Its first commercial venture is in Switzerland. It has a joint venture to use 1,600 hydrogen fuel cell trucks to transport goods for Coop and Migros, Switzerland’s two largest retailers. The vehicle will have a range of about 190 miles and will tow a 32,000-pound trailer. The trucks will get their power by pairing two of the 95-kilowatt fuel cell stacks Hyundai uses in its Nexo SUV. Deliveries start next year. All the trucks will be in operation by 2025, according to Maik Ziegler, Hyundai’s fuel cell EV vice president.

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The strategy also is a way for the automaker to market its trucks against the battery-electric vehicles that will be its main rivals for green shipping. Hyundai is confident that hydrogen is a better way to store energy than batteries.

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A truck in the heaviest Class 8 truck weight segment requires about 8 tons of batteries to have a 311-mile range, Kim said. A hydrogen system – including the fuel cell stack and tanks – weighs about 1.5 tons.

“It will have less weight so you can put more cargo on the truck,” he said. That translates into higher profits.

Since refueling takes about the same amount of time as filling a diesel truck – much shorter than charging batteries – savings can be seen with faster delivery times.

ROADBLOCKS

Still, there are significant hurdles. One is infrastructure. But Ziegler said commercial contracts for hydrogen fuel cell trucks would pay to build that out. Nikola has the same belief. By default, the commercial market also creates a fueling network for hydrogen passenger cars.

The hydrogen also has to be produced using renewable systems, such as solar energy, or there is no environmental benefit, Kim said. Hyundai has a partnership with H2 Energy to build a supply chain for renewable hydrogen in Europe. READ MORE

Toyota’s Woven City: a city of the future powered by hydrogen fuel cells, today (Hydrogen Digest)

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