SEOUL, February 05 (AJP) - Hyundai Motor is stepping up promotion of hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in Europe and North America, as its hydrogen-electric truck fleet in Europe surpassed 20 million kilometers in cumulative driving, the company said Thursday.
The milestone underscores Hyundai’s push to expand hydrogen mobility overseas as governments and logistics companies seek to cut transport emissions.
Hyundai’s XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks first entered service in Switzerland in October 2020 and have since expanded across Europe. A total of 165 trucks are now operating in Switzerland, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria, serving roles ranging from refrigerated and freezer transport to street sweepers, hook-lift container trucks and cranes.
In Germany, hydrogen-related firms have deployed about 110 trucks, mainly supporting logistics operations for supermarket chains, Hyundai said.
In France, the vehicles are used in supermarket logistics as well as municipal and industrial services, including street cleaning and heavy-duty transport in regions such as Paris, Lyon, Pays de la Loire and Burgundy.
In Switzerland, the Netherlands and Austria, the trucks are mainly used to transport food, beverages and industrial textiles.
Hyundai said the trucks produce no carbon dioxide emissions while driving. Citing guidelines from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the company estimated that diesel trucks covering the same 20 million kilometers would emit roughly 13,000 metric tons more carbon dioxide — equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of about 1.5 million pine trees.
Hyundai plans to use operational data collected from the fleet — including driving distance, hydrogen consumption and fuel cell performance — to improve future hydrogen fuel cell technologies.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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