Two years in the making
Two years ago, at the 2018 IAA in Hannover, Swiss start-up H2 Energy and Hyundai Truck & Bus broke the news that they would be doing big things when it comes to hydrogen and transportation in Switzerland. They formed a partnership called Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility, and its goal is to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly future. To this end, it offers zero-emission commercial vehicles with fuel-cell drives.
These are not the only two companies that are promoting the use of fuel-cell trucks; it’s a technology favoured by many other commercial vehicle manufacturers – most notably Nikola. But, generally speaking, fuel-cell trucks are still a long way off; Nikola’s Tre (in fuel-cell guise) is only scheduled for 2023. But the wait is over in Switzerland, where Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility is already taking hydrogen places – literally.
Swiss are ahead of the pack
There is a reason why the rollout of hydrogen-powered trucks has taken some time – and that’s because it’s somewhat complicated. As Martin Schatzmann, Swiss commercial vehicle journalist and authority on hydrogen propulsion, explains: “There is a major problem when deploying hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles. With no filling stations, there are no vehicles. And with no vehicles, there are no filling stations. Who is the one who takes the necessary first step?” he points out.
The Swiss tackled this challenge by working together. “The beauty of the project in Switzerland lies in the effort to unify all involved parties – from the truck maker to the hydrogen producer to the hauliers and filling station chains – in order to create an environment in which everyone can profit,” explains Schatzmann.
It was this novel approach – and also the actual technology (which is very impressive indeed) – that saw the Jury of the Truck of the Year honouring the joint venture Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility with the 2020 Truck Innovation Award.
Filling stations open and trucks arrive!
The first hydrogen station actually opened in Switzerland some time ago. Back in November 2016, it commenced business in Hunzenschwil, in the middle of Switzerland. It was started in order for food retailer Co-op to test a single hydrogen truck prototype.
Fast forward to 2020 and the first hydrogen-powered Hyundai arrived in Switzerland on February 18. The Xcient fuel-cell truck was used for testing purposes prior to commencement of serial production.
On July 7, the second commercial filling station for hydrogen was inaugurated in St. Gallen (in the eastern part of Switzerland).
“During the next six months, four additional stations will follow along the main east-west traffic axis, making it six stations between Lake Constance and Lake Geneva. More stations are already in the planning stage and, by 2023, the hydrogen supply should reach a nationwide level,” reveals Schatzmann.
In other parts of the world, a project like this is dependent on government funding. Schatzmann says this didn’t happen in Switzerland. “No one asked for government incentives to deploy technology and infrastructure, because all the Swiss players are convinced that only the commercial orientation will assure continued success for such a project,” he explains.
Around the time of the inauguration of the filling station in St. Gallen, Hyundai also shipped the first 10 Xcient fuel-cell trucks for customer use to Switzerland. These trucks will start running in daily operations by the end of September. By the end of the year, a total of 50 customer trucks will arrive in Switzerland. Another 150 trucks are planned for 2021 and a total of 1600 Xcient fuel-cell trucks will be deployed in Switzerland by the end of 2025.
All the trucks will be owned by Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility. The costs are being charged on a pay-per-use basis, with Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility and transport operators agreeing on a rate per kilometre. This will include the hydrogen and all service and support of the trucks.
Green hydrogen up for grabs
The filling stations will deliver green hydrogen (which is manufactured by electrolysis – using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen – versus blue hydrogen, which is manufactured by Steam Methane Reforming). It is being provided by a joint venture called Hydrospider.
“The first electrolyser (max power 2 MW) has been up and running at the hydroelectric power station in Goesgen since this April and it produces up to 300 tons of green hydrogen per year. This is enough to supply 40 to 50 fuel-cell trucks. A second production facility is on its way near to the new service station in St. Gallen, and it should be operational in about a year,” reveals Schatzmann.
All the filling stations will boast nozzles for 350 bar pressure (for trucks) as well as nozzles for 700 bar pressure (for cars). This means that fuel-cell cars could also hit the road in Switzerland son. Watch this space!
