Hyundai Motor is shipping its first 10 Xcient Fuel Cell trucks, claimed to be the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell heavy-duty trucks, to fleets in Switzerland.

It plans to produce 50 trucks this year and 1,600 by 2025, powered by a 190-kW hydrogen fuel cell system capable of 400 kms per charge. Hyundai says it will eventually achieve a driving range of 1,000 kms per charge.

Commercial fleet managers in Switzerland will begin deploying the trucks in September.

“Xcient Fuel Cell is a present-day reality, not as a mere future drawing board project. By putting this groundbreaking vehicle on the road now, Hyundai marks a significant milestone in the history of commercial vehicles and the development of hydrogen society,” said In Cheol Lee, executive vice-president and head of the commercial vehicle division at Hyundai Motor. “Building a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem, where critical transportation needs are met by vehicles like Xcient Fuel Cell, will lead to a paradigm shift that removes automobile emissions from the environmental equation.”

The trucks will house seven hydrogen tanks with a combined storage capacity of about 32 kgs. Hyundai showed the truck in North America for the first time at the 2019 North American Commercial Vehicle Show.