Hyundai has gone from being a cheap Korean import to now one of the world’s leading automakers. The latest concept to be shown by Hyundai is the H350 Fuel Cell van.
Up till now, the fuel cell vehicles have tended to be passenger cars for the future, but you can add in a commercial vehicle fuel cell van, which we are told can be refueled in four minutes.
The Hyundai H350 Fuel Cell Concept, revealed at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, is designed to prove that fuel cell technology can be adapted to the commercial sector as well as for passenger cars.
The van is equipped with a 175 liter hydrogen tank that can be refilled from empty in four minutes, which Hyundai says makes it a more viable alternative to slow-charging electric vehicles for commercial operators. On that score, they certainly have the electric segment well and truly dissed.
The H350’s electric motor produces 100 kW and 300 Nm, and Hyundai claims the van will produce a 150 km/h top speed and will have a range of 422 km before requiring refueling.
Equally important, the hydrogen powertrain has no impact on cargo space, with the short wheelbase version of the H350 providing 10.5 cubic meters of space, which increases to 12.9 cubic meters in the long wheelbase variant.
While there’s no immediate production plan for the H350, commercial vehicles are the next logical step for Hyundai, with the company already heavily invested in the passenger vehicle segment. This unveiling follows news last month that the Korean manufacturer will offer the first commercially available hydrogen-powered cars in Australia within two years. The ACT Government has already lodged the first-ever order for 20 Hyundai Fuel Cell Electric vehicles, due to be delivered in 2018.
The H350’s unveiling follows the report of the Mercedes-Benz Vision Van earlier this month – a futuristic commercial vehicle that paints an electric, rather than fuel cell-powered, picture of the future.
The all-electric Vision Van is powered by a 75 kW electric motor and can stretch to 270 km between recharges. While parts of the concept seem a way off (the cargo area is fully automated and it comes equipped with delivery drones that launch from its roof), the electric technology powering it is available now.
