(Seoul / South Korea) – Hyundai's heavy-duty “Xcient” fuel cell trucks will soon be seen on German roads. According to the Korean car manufacturer, seven companies from the areas of logistics, production and trade are adding 27 vehicles to their fleet. The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) supports their purchase.
400 kilometers range
The Xcient Fuel Cell is equipped with a 180-kilowatt fuel cell system, consisting of two 90-kilowatt fuel cell stacks. The electric motor has an output of 350 kilowatts. 
The seven tanks together offer a storage capacity of around 31 kilograms of hydrogen. There is an additional battery pack with 72 kilowatt hours on board. According to the company, the maximum range is 400 kilometers and refueling takes around eight to 20 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature.
Dachser will test Xcient from 2023
Hyundai left it open when exactly the first trucks would reach Germany. The names of the German buyers were also not mentioned.
According to its own information, Dachser Group SE & Co KG is already one of the customers. Accordingly, from the beginning of 2023, an Xcient will be on the road in two shifts for the logistics company in the Magdeburg area. While the truck with 18 pallet spaces is tested in regional distribution traffic during the day, the 27-ton truck drives to the Dachser branch in Berlin-Schönefeld at night with a tandem swap body trailer. Refueling options are available near the two Dachser branches in Magdeburg and Berlin until the vehicle is delivered.
Vehicles in Switzerland and California
In the Switzerland The trucks have been on the road since 2020, and there are currently 47 of them. According to Hyundai, the vehicles covered more than four million kilometers for 18 customers in 23 months.
In the USA The company announced a year ago that Hyundai wants to bring the Xcient onto the road as part of two publicly funded projects. The US model therefore has a range of 500 miles (800 kilometers) and belongs to class 8 according to the US classification - this starts with a permissible total weight of 33.000 pounds, corresponding to around 15 tons. The manufacturer states that the maximum total towing weight of the Xcient is “more than 37 tons”.
In the first project, 2023 of these fuel cell vehicles will go into operation in Northern California by the second quarter of 30. In the second project, two Xcients will be used for long-distance freight transport between warehouses in the south of the state for a period of twelve months.
Daughters in Switzerland and Germany
In 2019, Hyundai Motor Company founded the joint venture “Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility AG” (HHM) with the Swiss company H2 Energy, which rents the trucks to commercial operators on a pay-per-use basis, leaving no cost for fleet customers Initial investments are incurred.
Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility Germany GmbH (HHMG), based near Munich, was founded in April of this year and Frank Sreball was appointed managing director in June. HHMG takes over sales and customer service on site.
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The Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell will soon also be on German roads. © Hyundai Motor Company
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There are already 47 fuel cell trucks on the road in Switzerland. © Hyundai Motor Company
