Korean global automotive giant, Hyundai seems to be making some inroads into the zero emission heavy duty truck market with its Xcient heavy duty fuel cell trucks already working and winning sales, while major European makers are still years away from having their heavy duty hydrogen fuel cell machines on the road.
When T&B News visited the Daimler-Volvo Celcentric fuel cell development joint venture in Germany in 2022, a senior manager when asked who the main rivals would be told us that the Koreans would be major players in the hydrogen fuel cell sector as the decade rolled on.
Hyundai has had a fleet of fuel cell powered Xcients operating in Sweden for more than two years, and now it has revealed that Europe-wide parcel service, GLS, has successfully completed a 30,000 kilometre evaluation of the Hyundai Xcient hydrogen fuel cell truck in Germany.
GLS Germany says that since late last year it has delivered over 100,000 packages with its 6×2 Hyundai Xcient Fuel Cell rigid truck, which is equipped with an Allison 4000 Series automatic transmission. The truck has been operating in and around the German city of Cologne and since March this year, the truck has also been used for long-distance trips between Cologne and Mannheim.
The hydrogen truck trial is a further step in the testing of environmentally friendly propulsion technologies in everyday logistics according to GLS.
“We are open to new technologies and want to explore the various options. The main thing for us is that it works,” said Oualid Hamza, the operations manager for GLS.
“The vehicle itself works well. There have been no problems or breakdowns,” said Hamza.
The three-axle Hyundai features a steered rear axle, and can transport up to 1,300 parcels per trip, is powered by a 180-kilowatt (241 horsepower) hydrogen fuel cell system using two 90-kilowatt fuel cell units. The two fuel cell units feed the truck’s 350-kilowatt electric motor (2,237 newton-meters), which is coupled with an Allison automatic transmission for fast acceleration without loss of tractive power.
“It is great how agile the truck is and how easily and precisely it can be maneuvered thanks to the automatic transmission,” said GLS regional manager Gero Liebig.
“The truck is really fun to drive. It is almost as quiet as an electric vehicle, which means that night deliveries are possible at any time, even in populated areas. That gives us flexibility,” he said.
According to said Heidi Schutte, the Allison Transmission vice president for sales in EMEA, APAC and South America, the pioneering integration exemplifies Allison’s alternative fuel advantage.
“Our fuel-agnostic conventional transmissions are engineered to integrate seamlessly with varying fuel types, positioning Allison for continued success with eco-conscious transportation solutions, and we takes pride in offering a diverse array of propulsion solutions, from conventional to electric hybrid and fully electric systems, to help our customers meet their sustainability goals and to provide the power of choice,” she said.
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