Hydrogen trucks on trial in Rhône-Alpes: Hyundai and Hyliko put hauliers behind the wheel
Hydrogen in heavy road transport is no longer a distant prospect but a daily reality. That was the message at the hydrogen refuelling station at Lyon Saint-Exupery airport, where Hyundai and retrofit specialist Hyliko showed their hydrogen trucks to hauliers from the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region.
The station is part of the network run by HYmpulsion, the operator behind the regional Zero Emission Valley project. Twelve stations are now up and running in the region, dispensing green hydrogen.
Hyundai: 175 trucks and more than 21 million kilometres
Hyundai brought its XCIENT Fuel Cell, the world's first mass-produced heavy-duty hydrogen truck. Europe now counts 175 of them across five countries, together covering more than 21.8 million kilometres. They are used for supermarket distribution, food and beverage logistics, refuse collection, crane work and refrigerated transport.
One of those trucks handled the logistics for the Genesis Magma Racing team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Spare parts, tools and precision instruments travelled to the circuit by road, refuelling at existing hydrogen stations along the way.
In Lyon, Hyundai also presented the new Nexo, the second generation of its fuel-cell SUV. It covers 826 kilometres on a 6.69-kilo tank of hydrogen, has a system output of 150 kilowatts and refuels in about five minutes.
Hyliko: giving existing trucks a second life
French company Hyliko took a different route: retrofit. It converts existing Renault Trucks vehicles into hydrogen trucks using Toyota fuel cells. That is an efficient use of raw materials — an existing chassis and cab stay in service instead of a completely new vehicle rolling off the line.
The latest generation, the Hy T44 Gen2, is designed and assembled in Saint-Priest near Lyon, where Hyliko also runs its research centre. The key figures:
- Range of up to 600 kilometres at 35 tonnes and around 500 kilometres at 44 tonnes.
- Average consumption of roughly 7 kilos of hydrogen per 100 kilometres.
- A Toyota fuel cell combined with a 90 kWh battery.
- Hyliko is aiming for a hundred vehicles on the road by the end of 2027.
Lidl France and Carrefour already run Hyliko hydrogen trucks. The company also rents out Hyundai's trucks, so hauliers can get started without a large upfront investment.
Taking the wheel
Hyundai and Hyliko are offering test drives to transport companies around the station network in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes this summer. The reasoning is straightforward: driving a truck yourself and seeing how quickly it refuels tells you more than any brochure.
We see the essence of scaling up in this approach: vehicles, refuelling stations and users all getting going at the same time. Heavy road transport that runs long days and needs to be back in service quickly is exactly where the fuel cell shows its strengths.
Sources
- Laurent Meillaud, LinkedIn post on the demonstration at the HYmpulsion station, Lyon Saint-Exupery airport
- Hyundai Motor Group, How Hyundai Motor Group's hydrogen and robotics tech powered the Genesis Le Mans debut
- Hyundai Motor Group, XCIENT Fuel Cell truck fleet achieves 20-million-kilometer milestone in Europe
- Europe-Camions.com, Hyliko presente sa nouvelle generation de poids lourds hydrogene en retrofit
- H2-Mobile.fr, Au Mans, Hyundai a confie sa logistique a un camion hydrogene
- Hympulsion.com, Les stations
- H2 Rijders, Nieuwe Hyundai NEXO nu te bestellen: 826 km bereik
