Hyundai New Zealand – the only auto brand with a hydrogen fuel cell SUV in the country – recently unloaded the nation’s first hydrogen-powered truck, the XCIENT FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle) at the Ports of Auckland.
This truck is road-ready, and with a reliable hydrogen supply on tap through Ports of Auckland, it was driven to Hyundai’s Mt Wellington headquarters on its arrival here.
The XCIENT is the first of five trucks which will be on the nation’s roads next year, running freight across the country in a real-world demonstration within commercial fleets. 
New Zealand is just the second market outside Korea to commence a multiple truck programme.
Hyundai New Zealand, a NZ-owned company, has secured the trucks from Hyundai Motor Company, with the help of funding from EECA, to put them into a working demonstration programme.
The aim is to speed up the adoption of fuel cell uptake by helping industry, government and the public gain confidence in using hydrogen powered trucks.
As if we needed further convincing; Switzerland already has a fleet of XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks in commercial operation. Their fleet has now exceeded more than two million kilometres of regular commercial service.
The XCIENT Fuel Cell truck has a manufacturer gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 28 tonnes and a combined gross combination weight of 42 tonnes.
It will operate lower than this here due to New Zealand road’s weight limitations, however the quoted figures illustrate the genuine heavy-duty nature of this truck. 
The trucks will be introduced into an on-road (in-service) demonstration programme with specialists in heavy vehicle transport and road transport logistics. Those partners are still to be confirmed.
Hyundai New Zealand will use its own hydrogen refueller until the first group of hydrogen refueling stations are available and these are well underway.
The XCIENT is powered by a 350kw electric motor with 2237Nm of torque. Driving energy is provided by a 180kW hydrogen fuel cell system with dual 90kW fuel cell stacks combined with a 72kWh battery.
Seven tanks make a combined storage capacity of about 32.09kg of hydrogen. The range is about 400km – the driving distance between Auckland and Palmerston North.
The arrival is an exciting milestone – New Zealand is now at the forefront of international efforts to shift heavy vehicle transport to zero emission formats.
Each XCIENT Fuel Cell vehicle on New Zealand roads in place of a diesel truck will save *50 tonnes of CO2 per year from being emitted into the environment. 
*Based on 80,000kms per annum.