Hyundai Motor Company has launched its hydrogen fuel cell truck business in the North American market with the official launch of the ‘NorCAL ZERO Project’ in the port of California. The California Port Green Truck Adoption Project is a port decarbonization project in North America hosted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC).
The inauguration ceremony, which was held in Oakland, U.S., on May 2 and attended by key officials from Hyundai, CTE (The Center for Transportation and the Environment), the California Air Quality Administration, and the California Energy Commission.
After being selected as the final supplier in the eco-friendly commercial truck bidding for the project in 2021, Hyundai formed a consortium with CTE and has been actively working with partners to build a hydrogen value chain in North America.
As part of the project, Hyundai supplied 30 Xcient fuel cell trucks to G.E.T Freight, a trucking company under Glovis America, in the second half of last year. It is the largest single supplier of any North American carrier, replacing existing high-pollutant trucks to haul containers at the Port of Oakland and vehicles at the Port of Richmond.
While Hyundai Capital America provides more competitively priced leasing and financing services to trucking companies, Papé, a specialist trucking service in the West, provides vehicle maintenance and service.
In addition, ‘FEF (FirstElement Fuel)’ recently completed the first hydrogen refuelling station in Auckland that can charge up to 200 large hydrogen fuel cell trucks per day, enabling a stable supply of hydrogen. Hyundai states that it “is able to secure competitiveness in the North American market by building a true hydrogen mobility value chain that encompasses ‘hydrogen infrastructure construction, hydrogen fuel cell truck supply, leasing and financial service support, vehicle operation, and after-sales management’.”
According to CTE, the supply of Xcient fuel cell trucks linked to this project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 24,000 tons compared to diesel trucks by 2028, when the project ends.
Hyundai plans to actively expand its eco-friendly commercial vehicle business in North America by utilizing the hydrogen mobility value chain established through the ‘California Port Eco-friendly Truck Introduction Project’. It plans to supply five additional hydrogen fuel cell trucks to California from the first half of this year in connection with the ‘TAG (Targeted Airshed Grants)’ program hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Ken Ramirez, Vice President of Global Commercial & Hydrogen Business at Hyundai Motor Company, said, “The Port of California Green Truck Initiative is an important step forward in realizing Hyundai’s vision for a hydrogen society.
Hyundai Motor Company, which established the world’s first mass-production system for hydrogen fuel cell trucks in 2020, has entered eight countries, including the United States, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Korea, with its hydrogen fuel cell trucks.