Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen truck, Exiant, enters California after Europe.

Hyundai Motor’s eco-friendly large hydrogen-electric truck will enter the North American market in earnest beyond Europe.

On the 27th, Hyundai Motor announced that it was selected as one of the final suppliers of the California Port Environment Truck Introduction Project organized by the California Air Environment Agency and the Energy Commission.

In the project bidding, Hyundai Motor formed a consortium with several partners with the goal of establishing a value chain that ranges from hydrogen supply to vehicle supply, vehicle rental and financing, corporate sales and operation, and follow-up management.

Based on this, it was qualified to supply a total of 30 xiant hydrogen electric trucks starting in the second quarter of 2023.

Hyundai Motor plans to increase the hydrogen fuel tank pressure to 700 bar to significantly increase the mileage to about 800km, reflecting demand from the U.S. market, and supply an Exiant hydrogen electric truck with a tractor model that can tow trailers.

The vehicles will replace trucks that have been discharging pollutants from the city of Oakland and Auckland ports in California.

In the process, Hyundai Glovis, which has established logistics networks and infrastructure throughout North America, will be in charge of corporate sales and operation, and Macquarie Group, an international financial group, will rent vehicles and raise funds, respectively.

Hyundai Motor plans to cooperate with these partners. In addition, Hyundai Motor and CTE will secure a total of $29 million (about 33 billion won) in subsidies through the California Air and Environment Administration and the Energy Commission to build large-capacity hydrogen charging stations that can charge up to 50 hydrogen electric trucks in a row.

“Based on our experience in winning hydrogen-electric trucks, we will accelerate the entry of eco-friendly commercial vehicles into North America. We will make efforts to establish hydrogen value chains in North America and introduce a variety of hydrogen fuel-based commercial vehicle lineups,” said Hyundai Motor CEO Jang Jae-hoon.

Hyundai Motor plans to further strengthen its leading image in the hydrogen field by conducting a mandatory demonstration project for one year before operating the Exiant hydrogen electric truck locally, and push for a separate commercial operation for another five years.