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Tuesday 7 January 2020

Hyundai's Hydrogen Semi-Truck Concept


  • Hyundai rolled out its concept for a hydrogen-powered semi that is designed to meet both U.S. and European regulations.
  • The powertrain needs a few years to get up to speed, but the Neptune could arrive in 2023.
  • Hyundai already sells two hydrogen fuel-cell passenger vehicles in the U.S. market, the Tucson and the Nexo.

Hyundai's hydrogen future just got a lot bigger. The company offers two hydrogen passenger cars in California, fuel-cell (FCEV) versions of the Tucson SUV and the Nexo crossover, but a future hydrogen-powered entry in the U.S. market could compete with Macks and Peterbilts instead of the Toyota Mirai and the Honda Clarity.

The Hyundai HDC-6 Neptune concept was unveiled at the North American commercial-vehicle show in Atlanta this week, the latest shift in strategy for the Korean company. Hyundai already has thousands of its semi-trailers on the road in the U.S., but it does not sell any of its semi-tractors here. The Neptune could be the first, part of the company's expansion of its FCEV 2020 vision to the U.S. market.

Globally, it's a different story, since fossil-fuel Hyundai semi-tractors are sold in more than 100 countries, and the company's zero-emission truck future is starting outside the U.S. as well. Hyundai will also deliver the first of 1600 hydrogen-powered semi-tractors to companies in Switzerland later this year. While the powertrain in these trucks is zero emission, the look is a more standard cab-over design based on Hyundai's XCient truck.

Normal is not the case with the Class 8 heavy-duty Neptune. More Mercury Streamliner than semi-truck, the Neptune has a front end dominated by a swooping windshield and a large, low air intake. An LED screen in the grille area can be used to indicate if the vehicle is at rest or to display a company logo or other usage information. Steps leading into the truck tuck away when not in use, adding to the overall aerodynamic look of the semi.

The Neptune wasn't just made to look cool, Hak Soo Ha, Hyundai Motor Company's vice president, interior design group, told Car and Driver. Although it's still a concept, the truck was designed with real-world use and regulations in mind. The front end sticks out a little farther than most European trucks, but it will still be able to meet the tight 41-foot turning radius requirements there. And in the U.S., the weight of the powertrain has been distributed so that an eventual production model will not run afoul of the Federal Bridge Gross Weight Formula. Potential competitors to the Hyundai in the alternative-energy-semi space aren't building their trucks with these global regulations in mind, Ha said, which means they will need to develop different models for different models or rework their designs. "Tesla and Nikola never took into account these regulations," he claimed.





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