Gebrüder Weiss added a hydrogen truck to its fleet of vehicles on 25 January. Instead of using diesel, the Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell model delivered to the Altenrhein branch in Switzerland runs on "green hydrogen," meaning that this commercial vehicle can save around 80 t of CO2 emissions per year.

The Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell is a 36 t truck designed to transport around 25 tons of goods with a range of about 600 km. The truck is powered by a 350-kW electric motor, supplied with electricity produced by utilizing water chemically reacting with oxygen. Instead of pollutants, all that escapes the tailpipe is water vapor. The Swiss network of hydrogen filling stations is still being built, but it is comprehensive enough to enable the use of such vehicles across the whole of eastern Switzerland. At Gebrüder Weiss, the hydrogen truck primarily will be in service for a renewable energy sector customer.

According to the manufacturer, 2,000 such hydrogen trucks are due to be produced and delivered by the end of 2021.