Hyundai Motor Company will run in-service trials of its hydrogen-powered Elec City Fuel Cell bus in Germany as the company explores opportunities to introduce the zero-emission bus to European markets.
Hyundai has handed over the test bus to transport groups Busbetrieb Josef Ettenhuber GmbH (Ettenhuber) and Geldhauser Linien- und Reiseverkehr GmbH & Co. KG (Geldhauser).
The two bus operators will take turns running the Elec City Fuel Cell bus on existing routes in Munich, carrying actual passengers. It can travel over 500 kilometres when fully charged.
Hyundai Motor plans to run demos with four more bus operators this year, collecting passenger and driver feedback along the way. Elec City Fuel Cell has been commercially available in Korea since 2019 and a total of 108 units have been put into operation.
Martin Zeilinger, Executive Vice President and Head of CV Development Tech Unit, says: “With our leading fuel cell technology, Hyundai Motor is demonstrating how mass-produced Elec City Fuel Cell buses can help reduce CO2 emissions while providing clean mobility. Running these in-service trials will help us further develop our vehicles to meet European customer requirements.”
Hyundai’s Elec City bus is equipped with a 180-kW high-capacity hydrogen fuel cell system, which consists of two 90-kW hydrogen fuel cells, equipped with a durable hydrogen diffusion layer and an electrolyte membrane. There are five hydrogen tanks in the roof, storing a total of 34 kg of hydrogen for over 500 km of range.
