Altenrhein / Lauterach – After one year, the transport and logistics service provider Gebrüder Weiss awards the first hydrogen truck in its fleet a good interim report. The Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell stationed in Altenrhein (Switzerland) is used on a daily basis in short-distance general cargo transport and has proven itself there in all seasons. Even on uphill stretches, the electric motor, which draws power from a fuel cell, retained full performance. The utility vehicle saves around 80 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
Since taking delivery of the 36-ton truck in January 2021, the vehicle has covered around 70,000 kilometers. Consumption was even lower than the value specified by the manufacturer, and in one year, there was only a single visit to the workshop for the technical inspection. “The purchase was a worthwhile investment in resource-saving road freight transport. The truck is well received by the drivers and, above all, by the customers,” says Peter Waldenberger, Head of Quality and Environmental Management at Gebrüder Weiss.
Gebrüder Weiss plans to use hydrogen trucks in Austria and southern Germany as well in the future, since subsidy programs in Germany make their use north of the Alps attractive. A limiting factor is the availability of hydrogen filling stations, of which nine already exist in Switzerland. In addition to the fuel cell truck, the logistics provider already has several gas trucks on the road in Austria, Germany and Serbia, as well as electrically powered trucks and vans in the greater Vienna area – among others for its client IKEA in the home delivery sector.
