Hyundai has won the race to be the first to register a fleet of hydrogen vehicles in Australia. The fleet of 20 zero-emission Nexos has been deployed by the ACT government fleet, with the cars set to hit the roads in March.
Although the ACT government is the first to register its fleet, more state FCEVs are on the way. In addition to the 20 for Canberra, 5 Hyundai hydrogen vehicles are in transit for use by the Queensland government. In addition, Toyota has agreed to a similar contract with the Victorian government for an extended trial of 20 hydrogen-fuelled Mirai sedans.
Both Hyundai and Toyota were in a “silent race” to be the first to register hydrogen-powered cars, reports CarAdvice. But with Toyota Australia yet to officially register their cars locally, Hyundai beat the Japanese manufacturer to the punch.
While hydrogen is seen as a way of combating the range anxiety associated with traditional battery EVs, there are still barriers to the wide-scale adoption of fuel-cell EVs. One problem is the lack of refueling stations. In Australia, there will be four, with hydrogen soon to be available in Canberra and Melbourne, in addition to the Hyundai pump at their Sydney headquarters and Toyota’s mobile refueling station.
ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Shane Rattenbury MLA, said that the NEXO fleet deployment is a positive step towards mitigating climate change. “Tackling climate change means tackling transport pollution, and zero-emission vehicle technology is a key part of this,” Mr. Rattenbury said.
The Nexo has a WLTP range of 666 km and can be refueled from empty in around five minutes. It was also the first FCEV to score a five-star ANCAP rating.
“The deployment of 20 NEXO fuel cell electric vehicles for the ACT government is a significant milestone in Hyundai’s long-term commitment to hydrogen as a key to zero-emissions transport solutions for Australia,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia Chief Executive Officer, Jun Heo said.
https://youtu.be/gmtF-yPVUls