Hyundai’s Xcient wins innovation award in China

Hyundai Motor Company has won the 2020 Truck Innovation Award in China with the hydrogen fuel cell electric truck that it has recently exported to Europe.

The South Korean car manufacturer said Sunday that its hydrogen electric truck “Xcient” won the second place in the hydrogen fuel cell innovation category at the fifth International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Forum, which took place on Tuesday in Shanghai, China.

Hyundai Motor Company was the only foreign automaker that received an award with Chinese companies and institutions sweeping all the other awards from the first prize to participation awards. It was also the only company that won an award for a fully built unit.

Xcient is equipped with a 350-kilowatt electric motor powered by a 190-kilowatt fuel cell stack. It can also store up to 32 kilograms of hydrogen with seven hydrogen storage tanks and drive 400 kilometers after an 8~20-minute charge.

Hyundai Motor Company exported Xcient to Switzerland in July for the first time, and it plans to supply 50 by the end of this year and 1,600 by 2025. The fuel cell-powered electric trucks will be sold to “Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility,” a joint venture between the South Korean manufacturer and “H2 Energy,” a Swiss hydrogen solution provider, which will then be provided on the basis of pay-per-use model.

Hyundai Motor Company partnered with Cummins in September last year to develop eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for commercial vehicles and signed a deal to supply them to the North American commercial vehicle market.


Do-Hyong Kim dodo@donga.com