Hyundai deploys hydrogen trucks for Georgia EV plant logistics

Hyundai is using hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty trucks to bring parts to its US EV plant in Georgia in partnership with a Californian-based logistics firm.

Working with Glovis Americas, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) put an initial 21 Class 8 XCIENT trucks on the road to transport vehicle parts from suppliers to the factory on a daily basis.

With the trucks connecting suppliers and HMGMA’s on-site consolidation centre, the firms plan to expand the logistics to a broader network of suppliers.

To support the deployment, Hyundai and Glovis’ joint venture, HTWO Logistics, will install a hydrogen refuelling station at the Megasite. Hydrogen production capacity at the site is expected to be announced later.

Set up earlier this year, the joint venture is slated as a brand that will enable “each stage of the entire hydrogen value chain, from production and storage to transportation and utilisation.”

“HMGMA’s deployment of XCIENT for logistics and operations is one of the main initiatives of HTWO,” said Hyundai’s North America commercial vehicle and hydrogen business boss, Jim Park.

“This is delivering on our strategy and vision to showcase a closed-loop hydrogen logistics ecosystem and improve the environmental sustainability of manufacturing operations.”

Hyundai and Glovis have been working together on heavy-duty hydrogen trucking for several years. Most recently, the pair joined arms in a $53m project in the San Francisco Bay Area to deploy 30 XCIENT trucks.

Read more:California launches $53m hydrogen truck project in Bay Area

Launched in 2020, the XCIENT truck has been deployed in the US, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Korea and New Zealand. Featuring two 90kW fuel cells, it has a driving range of over 450 miles per tank of hydrogen.