Swiss transport companies write mobility history
World premiere at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. On 7 October 2020 ,Galliker Transport AG was one of the seven first companies worldwide to receive a Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell truck. A milestone for the mission Green Logistics by Galliker.
Electromobility with green hydrogen is no longer some far-off fantasy – it has become a reality.
On 7 October, Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility AG handed over the very first series-produced hydrogen-electric commercial vehicle to Galliker Transport AG and six other Swiss companies. The seven companies came to this honour as members of the H2 Mobility Switzerland Association.
For Galliker, the handover is an important step in the mission Green Logistics by Galliker. "Today is a milestone for our company and the topic of sustainability," says CEO Peter Galliker. Galliker wants to supply the Swiss cities CO2-neutral by 2030.
Reduction of CO2 emissions
By taking delivery of the first volume-production Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell hydrogen trucks, Switzerland’s private sector is launching a clean new mobility system that will sustainably reduce CO2 emissions, soot particles and nitrogen oxides on the road, both from heavy goods vehicles and from passenger cars.
The new 36-tonne trailer trucks will be refuelled with green hydrogen, which is produced in Switzerland from renewable energy sources without CO2 emissions.
This is how the hydrogen-electric vehicle works: In the fuel cell, a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen from the ambient air generates electric current that drives the 350 kW electric motor. The exhaust pipe only gives off water vapour. The refuelling time, range, scope of use and operating costs can be compared to today’s diesel trucks, with the difference that fuel cell commercial vehicles are electric and therefore silent. In this way, some 80 tonnes of CO2 emissions can be saved per year and commercial vehicle.
Step-by-step introduction
It is planned to add another Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell Truck to the Galliker fleet by the end of the year. The futher introduction of more trucks will then take place step by step. A total of 50 new vehicles will be launched on the Swiss market this year. Parallel to this, further H2 filling stations are being built. Plants are already in operation in Hunzenschwil (AG) and St. Gallen (SG). They offer green hydrogen (H2 ZERO) for commercial vehicles (350 bar) and passenger cars (700 bar).
Further development for the Swiss market will take place from 2021 to 2023 with a total of 1000 hydrogen-electric commercial vehicles and a nationwide hydrogen filling station network. At the same time, the volume of passenger cars with the environmentally friendly hydrogen-electric drive should increase.
