French balloonist Bertrand Piccard has managed to cover a distanceBertrand Piccard at Hyundai NEXO (photo: Hyundai)and of 778 kilometres with the hydrogen-powered Hyundai NEXO. It is the largest distance ever covered on one tank of hydrogen. What kind of car is this?
Swiss balloonist Bertrand Piccard has managed to cover a distance of 778 kilometres with the hydrogen-powered Hyundai NEXO car. It is the greatest distance ever covered on one tank of hydrogen. What kind of car is this?
Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist who, among other things, completed the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999. He also travelled the world in the Solar Impulse, an aircraft powered solely by solar energy. This time, Piccard set out on his journey in a Hyundai NEXO. He set off from the FaHyence hydrogen station in Sarreguemines, France, and drove 778 kilometres to the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget. Piccard did this on one tank of hydrogen.
Hyundai NEXO
The journey was made in a Hyundai NEXO, a hydrogen-powered production model from Hyundai. Available since 2017, the model features both an electric motor and a hydrogen fuel cell. Hyundai reports that when it arrived, the vehicle still had a range of 49 kilometres. A regular car from the same segment would have emitted 111.2 kilograms of CO2 during this drive, according to Hyundai.
The Hyundai NEXO is an electric-powered SUV with a fuel cell. The vehicle can cover a distance of 665 kilometres according to Hyundai's official figures based on the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). But this could therefore be more, Piccard's journey shows. Because the vehicle emits only water, the NEXO does not release any pollutants while driving.
Air leaves vehicle cleaner
Indeed, air leaves the vehicle cleaner than it enters. For optimal operation of the fuel cell, it is necessary to purify incoming air. This uses an air filter that captures microparticles smaller than PM2.5. According to Hyundai, this ensures that 99.9% of airborne particles are removed by the NEXO's air filters. Purified air that does not flow to the fuel cell thereby leaves the NEXO cleaner than it entered.
Hyundai points out that the Hyundai NEXO is the best-selling hydrogen-powered car in Europe. Since 2017, the company has registered some 500 hydrogen cars in Europe, which Hyundai says is more than other all other carmakers combined. However, hydrogen car sales are still very limited in absolute numbers. By comparison, 73,127 electric vehicles were registered in Europe in the third quarter alone, according to ACEA figures.
The Hyundai NEXO has a maximum power output of 120kW. This allows the vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) in 9.2 seconds. The NEXO's top speed is 179 km/h. The NEXO can be refuelled in five minutes.
'New era'
"With this adventure, we are proving that with clean technology, we don't need revolutionary experimental prototypes to break records. Anyone can do this with standard emission-free vehicles. A new era of performance is dawning, helping to protect the environment," Piccard said.
Several prominent passengers rode with Piccard during the record attempt. These included the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, French President of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Ecology and Solidarity Transition Elisabeth Borne and Prince Albert II of Monaco. Other travellers included the president of the Grand Est region in France Jean Rottner, French MP for Dordogne and director of the Hydrogen Study Group of the French National Assembly Michel Delpon and CEO of Air Liquide Benoît Potier.
Removing doubts
"Although some have doubts about the relevance of hydrogen in cars of the future, we at Hyundai have believed in this since we started developing this technology in 1998. Thanks to this record set by Bertrand Piccard, all doubts are dispelled. Not only does Bertrand have a global reach, he is a charismatic figure who knows better than anyone how to create awareness about climate issues. We share his conviction that it is possible to change our consumption in a sustainable way and hydrogen is an answer to this problem. We see respect for the environment as an opportunity for growth, and not as an obstacle to innovation," explains Lionel French-Keogh, Managing Director of Hyundai Motor France.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Hyundai
