Hyundai reveals concept model for commercial hydrogen-powered truck at US car show

By Park Sae-jin Posted : October 29, 2019, 12:56 Updated : October 29, 2019, 12:56

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor]

SEOUL -- In an effort to promote its image as a leading producer of clean-energy vehicles using hydrogen fuel cells, South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor debuted a concept model for its commercial hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck at a commercial vehicle show in the United States.

Hyundai said in a statement uploaded onto its news blog that it revealed a concept model for "HDC-6 NEPTUNE", a hydrogen-powered Class 8 heavy-duty truck, at the North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) Show held at Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

"Today at this show, by showing HDC-6 Neptune, the first hydrogen-only concept for Hyundai Motor Company’s commercial vehicles, we will start exploring opportunities in the United States commercial vehicle market," Hyundai's commercial vehicle division head Edward Lee was quoted as saying.

HDC-6 NEPTUNE is a concept for Hyundai's first hydrogen-only commercial truck vehicle. It is the latest member of Hyundai's hydrogen-powered vehicle family line that began in 2013 when the carmaker started mass producing "ix35 Fuel Cell", a variant model of Hyundai's sport utility vehicle, Tucson. The carmaker launched Nexo, a hydrogen fuel cell SUV, in December 2018.
 

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor]

The Class 8 heavy-duty truck features a sleek futuristic uni-body design inspired by New York streamliner trains designed by Henry Dreyfuss, an American industrial designer, in the 1930s.

Hyundai said that through a joint venture with H2 Energy, it commercialized hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in Switzerland by providing 1,600 heavy-duty trucks in 2019. The commercialization will continue until 2023. In the U.S., Hyundai targets the world's largest commercial vehicle market as an important next phase of its hydrogen fuel cell vehicle commercialization project.

Because of tightening global emissions standards, commercial vehicle makers are forced to move onto clean energy from conventional fossil fuels. Other than Hyundai, commercial vehicle makers such as Nikola, an American hybrid heavy-duty truck maker, Daimler and Toyota are developing hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. However, they are taking a cautious approach because hydrogen fuel charging infrastructure was not established.
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