A recent partnership between Hyundai Motor and FirstElement Fuel will see the company’s hydrogen refueling stations provide fuel to test Hyundai Motor’s XCIENT Fuel Cell Heavy Duty trucks in California.
Through the partnership, FirstElement Fuel’s True Zero network of hydrogen refueling stations will fill three XCIENT Class-8 Fuel Cell prototype trucks at a full 700 bar of pressure. FirstElement Fuel is also bringing out its high-capacity mobile fueler developed in collaboration between FirstElement Fuel, cryogenic equipment manufacturer Taylor-Wharton, and machine industry company Nikkiso. This mobile refueler has the capability to provide high-capacity fueling at a rate of 125 kilograms per hour and is also used to support pilot programs for other Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) OEMs as well.
Drivers from FirstElement Fuel are operating three XCIENT fuel cell trucks on routes across the Golden State, covering over 40234 km (25,000 miles) without emitting any carbon, as claimed by the company. In the course of the program, FirstElement has carried out more than 120 hydrogen refills for the Xcient Fuel Cell trucks.
According to Hyundai and FirstElement Fuel, they will hold the world’s largest deployment of Class 8 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in Oakland, California. The project, named, NorCAL Zero is jointly funded by California Energy Commission and the California Air Resources Board, the project is managed by the Center for Transportation and the Environment.
“Our partnership with Hyundai has also given us total confidence that fuel cell technology will eventually meet all the needs of the transport and logistics sector with zero emissions.”
Data gathered during the refueling partnership will be used in design considerations for the NorCAL Zero project. FirstElement Zero was established in 2013 with the goal to provide safe, reliable, retail hydrogen to customers with Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles.
Here in the Philippines, EV commercial light-duty trucks are only starting to enter the local market. FCEV trucks promise to provide an emission-free alternative to diesel which could be beneficial for countries like the Philippines that are only starting to adopt alternatives to fossil fuels, but, it may take a while before these FCEV trucks will make their way to the Philippines.
