Swiss companies write mobility history

A great day for Lucerne, for Switzerland, for the world and for mobility! Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility Ltd is delivering the very first volume-production hydrogen-electric commercial vehicles (36 t) to seven Swiss companies. Coop, Migros, Fenaco, Galliker Logistics, Camion Transport AG, F. Murpf AG and G. Leclerc Transport AG – all members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association – are the first companies worldwide to include Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks in their vehicle fleets. At the same time, AVIA, Agrola and Coop pronto, which are also members of the sponsoring association, will open additional hydrogen filling stations in the coming months in order to supply the new commercial vehicles with CO₂-free, green hydrogen.

Lucerne, 7 October 2020 – Electromobility with green hydrogen is no longer some far-off fantasy – it has become a reality. Today in Lucerne, Coop, Migros, Fenaco, Galliker Logistics, Camion Transport AG, F. Murpf AG and G. Leclerc Transport AG were provided with the keys to their first Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks.

By taking delivery of the first volume-production Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen trucks, Switzerland’s private sector is launching a clean new mobility system that will sustainably reduce CO₂ emissions, soot particles and nitrogen oxides on the road, both from heavy goods vehicles and from passenger cars.

Jörg Ackermann, President of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association: “Today marks the genesis of the de-carbonisation of heavy goods traffic in Switzerland. With the deployment of the first XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, the Hyundai Motor Company and the Swiss private sector are closing a mobility loop that operates as an integrated hydrogen ecosystem, making the members and partners of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association the first to solve the chicken-and-egg dilemma of hydrogen mobility on a country level for the first time worldwide. This would not be possible without the determination with which Hyundai is driving the development of this technology. The unifying element of this loop is the renewable energy revolution, accompanied by the firm belief that it cannot be implemented without green hydrogen.”

 The 36-tonne trailer trucks will be fuelled with green hydrogen produced in Switzerland from renewable energy sources without CO₂ emissions. In the fuel cell, a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen from the ambient air generates electric current that drives the 350 kW electric motor. The exhaust pipe only gives off water vapour. The refuelling time, range, scope of use and operating costs can be compared to today’s diesel trucks, with the difference that fuel cell commercial vehicles are electric and therefore silent. In this way, some 80 tonnes of CO₂ emissions can be saved per year and commercial vehicle.

The system is being scaled up incrementally. A total of 50 Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen-powered electric vehicles (36 t trailer trucks) are arriving in Switzerland this year. At the same time, the members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association are establishing a hydrogen filling station network. The H2 filling stations already open in Hunzenschwil (AG) and St. Gallen (SG) will be followed this year by locations in Zofingen (AG), Rümlang (ZH), Lausanne (VD) and Bern (BE). Stations in Rothenburg (LU) and Geuensee (LU) will begin operating in early 2021. These filling stations will offer green hydrogen (H2 ZERO) for commercial vehicles (350 bar) and passenger cars (700 bar).

Further expansion will take place from 2021 to 2023 with a total of 1,000 hydrogen-electric commercial vehicles and a comprehensive network of hydrogen filling stations. At the same time, the number of passenger cars with environmentally friendly hydrogen-electric drive systems is also expected to increase.

The new Swiss H2 electromobility system at a glance

Hydrospider, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility (HHM), the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association and H2 ENERGY Ltd are currently building this carbon-free e-mobility system in the alpine nation. This is based on a business ecosystem that unites various players in the energy and mobility sector in a joint, private-sector system. Each element of this cycle, from the energy source and production to the use in the electric vehicle, is completely free of CO₂ emissions.

The closed cycle begins with the production of green hydrogen by Hydrospider AG. The production takes place at a new facility at Alpiq’s Gösgen hydroelectric power plant in the canton of Solothurn. The hydrogen uses electricity from renewable sources in Switzerland only (water, solar, wind), making it carbon free and environmentally friendly. This is completely green hydrogen produced to the SAE standard J2719.

Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility AG plans to import up to 1’600 hydrogen-electric trucks by 2025. The hydrogen supply and the structure of the commercial vehicles, infrastructure, and filling station network are ready for the first 50 Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks. The 36 t trailer trucks are expected to be on Swiss roads before the end of 2020. These will be made available on a pay-per-use basis to transport and logistics companies distributing goods within Switzerland.

The members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association are using the vehicles to build the nationwide refuelling infrastructure with 350 bar and 700 bar for commercial vehicles and cars respectively. The network of filling stations will be expanded over the coming years to supply the growing number of trucks with green hydrogen. Hydrogen filling stations are due to open in St. Gallen, Rümlang, Hunzenschwil, Zofingen, Berne-Bethlehem and Crissier by the end of 2020. At various filling stations, the green hydrogen is also being offered under the designation H2 ZERO.

As the business innovator, H2 ENERGY Ltd operates the central platform for implementing the mobility system (skills centre for technology and business).

Hydrogen mobility can benefit both consumers and the environment. Hydrogen can be produced locally to ensure energy independence. It offers carbon-free mobility, with only water vapour coming out of the exhaust. Electric drives are also quiet and efficient, while hydrogen vehicles are just as quick to refuel as conventional ones.

Hydrogen-electric mobility can also play a major role in the general energy system, as electricity providers can feed excess energy from renewable sources like wind, solar and water to the mobility sector, enabling extensive vehicle range.

Hydrogen also has the advantage that it can be stored. Power-to-gas technology is key for integrating electricity from renewable sources such as hydropower, photovoltaics or wind into the energy system, including use in the mobility sector.

Information on the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association and its members is available at www.h2mobilitaet.ch.