Hyundai Motor's hydrogen-powered XCIENT Fuel Cell truck / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor is moving to diversify its eco-friendly mobility business portfolio in the United States by initiating its hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric truck project in California, the automaker said Friday.

This is part of the NorCAL ZERO project for which Hyundai Motor provides its hydrogen fuel cell technologies and hydrogen electric vehicles for zero-emission freight transportation to the San Francisco Bay Area and California's Central Valley, according to the company.

Under the project, Hyundai Motor already provided a total of 30 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks to a local freight transportation business operator last year.

Taking advantage of the latter's logistics network, the commercial operation of the vehicles has been underway since last year, hauling containers from the Port of Oakland and transporting vehicles from the Port of Richmond.

Hyundai Motor has collaborated with major partners to build a more comprehensive hydrogen mobility ecosystem across North America in recent years.

Earlier this year, the company presented its hydrogen vision during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Even if the hydrogen-fueled vehicle industry is yet to generate meaningful revenue, the company shared its unwavering belief in the sector, speaking highly of the energy's eco-friendliness and safety.

"The NorCAL ZERO Project in Oakland marks a significant step forward in realizing Hyundai's vision for a global hydrogen society," Ken Ramirez, executive vice president and head of global commercial vehicle and hydrogen business at Hyundai Motor, said. "The project demonstrates how the transport energy transition is achievable today and will serve as one of the building blocks for Hyundai's port decarbonization initiatives worldwide."

Hyundai Motor's XCIENT Fuel Cell electric truck is the world's first mass-produced heavy-duty truck powered by hydrogen energy. The vehicle has been deployed in eight countries, including the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Korea, after it made its debut in 2020.

At the 2024 edition of CES, the company gave a glimpse into its grand vision to build a hydrogen value chain encompassing the energy's production, storage, transportation and utilization.

"Hyundai is proud to be a part of the largest-ever deployment of the fuel cell electric trucks in North America," Jim Park, senior vice president at Hyundai Motor North America, said. "The community in Oakland leads the way in clean, sustainable freight transportation and serves as a blueprint for many more deployments to come in the U.S."