The ‘NorCAL ZERO Project’ has officially inaugurated in the port of California, marking the beginning of Hyundai Motor Company’s hydrogen fuel cell truck business in the North American market. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) are the hosts of the California Port Green Truck Adoption Project, a port decarbonisation initiative in North America.
Important representatives from Hyundai, CTE (The Centre for Transportation and the Environment), the California Air Quality Administration, and the California Energy Commission attended the inauguration event, which took place in Oakland, California, on May 2.
Following its 2021 selection as the project’s ultimate supplier for environmentally friendly commercial trucks, Hyundai partnered with CTE to establish a consortium, and since then, the two companies have been aggressively developing a hydrogen value chain throughout North America.
In the latter part of last year, Hyundai provided 30 Xcient fuel cell vehicles to Glovis America-affiliated trucking company G.E.T Freight as part of the deal. It is the biggest supplier of any carrier in North America and is taking the place of the high-polluting trucks that are now used to transport cars at the Port of Richmond and containers at the Port of Oakland.
While Hyundai Capital America provides more competitively priced leasing and financing services to trucking companies, Papé, a specialist trucking service in the West, provides vehicle maintenance and service.
In addition, ‘FEF (FirstElement Fuel)’ recently completed the first hydrogen refuelling station in Auckland that can charge up to 200 large hydrogen fuel cell trucks per day, enabling a stable supply of hydrogen. Hyundai states that it “can secure competitiveness in the North American market by building a true hydrogen mobility value chain that encompasses ‘hydrogen infrastructure construction, hydrogen fuel cell truck supply, leasing and financial service support, vehicle operation, and after-sales management’.”
According to CTE, the supply of Xcient fuel cell trucks linked to this project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 24,000 tons compared to diesel trucks by 2028, when the project ends.
Hyundai plans to actively expand its eco-friendly commercial vehicle business in North America by utilizing the hydrogen mobility value chain established through the ‘California Port Eco-friendly Truck Introduction Project’. It plans to supply five additional hydrogen fuel cell trucks to California from the first half of this year in connection with the ‘TAG (Targeted Airshed Grants)’ program hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Ken Ramirez, Vice President of Global Commercial & Hydrogen Business at Hyundai Motor Company, said, “The Port of California Green Truck Initiative is an important step forward in realizing Hyundai’s vision for a hydrogen society.
Hyundai Motor Company, which established the world’s first mass-production system for hydrogen fuel cell trucks in 2020, has entered eight countries, including the United States, Switzerland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, as well as Korea, with its hydrogen fuel cell trucks.