Hyundai Xcient Hydrogen Electric Truck Deployed for Uruguay Eco-Friendly Logistics Project

Hyundai Motor Company’s Xcient Fuel Cell hydrogen electric truck will be deployed for Uruguay’s eco-friendly logistics construction project.

Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 20th that it recently supplied eight Xcient hydrogen electric trucks to Uruguay for the “Kairos Project.”

This project, which will be fully operational in the second half of 2026, is a private partnership initiative led by the Kairos Consortium in Uruguay, aiming to decarbonize the timber logistics process. The project’s core strategies include adopting hydrogen electric trucks in transportation and directly producing green hydrogen using solar energy, thereby reducing carbon emissions generated during timber transportation over the long term.

Hyundai Xcient hydrogen electric truck supplied locally in Uruguay for the eco-friendly logistics construction project. Hyundai Motor Company

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To achieve this, hydrogen electric trucks have been introduced, a 4.8MW solar power plant has been completed, and both an electrolysis facility capable of producing 77 tons of hydrogen annually and a hydrogen refueling station are under construction.

For this project, which is being carried out at a total scale of 40 million dollars (approximately 60 billion won), three local Uruguayan companies have formed a consortium. Banco Santander, the largest bank in Spain, is participating as a major investor with support from the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and the United Nations Renewable Energy Innovation Fund.

Specifically, eco-friendly energy company Ventus is responsible for hydrogen production and operation of the hydrogen refueling station; leading timber logistics company Fraylog is in charge of the project’s overall logistics operations; and Fidocar, Hyundai’s authorized distributor in Uruguay, handles the import, licensing, and maintenance of the hydrogen electric trucks.

The Hyundai Xcient hydrogen electric truck is a tractor model with a total weight rating of 37.2 tons, equipped with a 180kW hydrogen fuel cell system and a 350kW high-output drive motor. It is fitted with 10 hydrogen tanks that can store a total of 68kg of hydrogen and can travel up to 720km on a single charge, enabling efficient long-distance transport with zero emissions.

Hyundai Motor Company expects that the Xcient hydrogen electric truck will play a key role in reducing carbon emissions in the logistics process within this project.

Once the project is fully underway, six out of the eight Xcient hydrogen electric trucks will be initially deployed for timber transport, with the total annual travel distance expected to reach approximately 1 million kilometers. The remaining two trucks are planned to be added as transport services expand in the future.

This project is also significant as it marks the first case in Latin America where hydrogen electric trucks are operated for commercial purposes.

Through participation in this project, Hyundai Motor Company aims to demonstrate its leadership in eco-friendly mobility and to actively target the Latin American eco-friendly commercial vehicle market.

A Hyundai Motor Company official stated, “We are very pleased that the Xcient hydrogen electric truck, through this project, is expanding its influence in the hydrogen ecosystem to Latin America, following Europe and North America,” adding, “Hyundai Motor Company will continue efforts to decarbonize the core areas of the transportation value chain and to create a clean and sustainable future.”

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Xcient hydrogen electric truck is being supplied to major global markets such as Korea, Switzerland, the United States, and Germany, proving its excellent eco-friendliness and technological prowess.

The Xcient hydrogen electric truck, first launched in Switzerland in October 2020, surpassed a cumulative driving distance of 10 million kilometers in Switzerland within three years and eight months of operation. Currently, there are 165 units in operation across Europe, and as of January this year, the total cumulative driving distance in Europe has reached 20 million kilometers.

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