Hyundai Motor and the Swiss company H2 Energy are together preparing the launch of one thousand heavy-duty commercial vehicles with hydrogen-electric drives for the Swiss market. The first units of these environmentally-friendly commercial vehicles will be on the road from 2019 and will exclusively run on hydrogen from renewable energy sources.
Company representatives signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018 in Hanover. The vehicle is being developed by Hyundai according to European norm specifications. It has a new 190 kW hydrogen-fuel cell system with two parallel-coupled fuel cell systems. The range of the commercial vehicles can be in the region of 400 km per fuel tank in real-life conditions, with a filling time of 7 minutes. H2 Energy is specialised in the manufacture and supply of hydrogen from sustainable production. The company relies on the availability of the hydrogen-electric commercial vehicles for Swiss customers – above all for the members of the Association H2 Mobility Switzerland. This is comprised of Swiss companies who operate filling stations networks or use large vehicle fleets.
Compared to battery-electric drives, hydrogen-electric drives provide various advantages in larger vehicles like trucks and buses. Fuel cell technology saves space and reduces overall weight, while also yielding operating costs which are more efficient, becoming even more optimal as vehicle size increases. Therefore this technology offers a broad spectrum of application options in the commercial transport sector.