Hyundai is stepping up its trials of its first Level 4 autonomous Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell electric truck in the US.
The XCIENT Fuel Cell truck is now undergoing initial autonomous driving assessments, making it the first-ever Level 4 self-driving test on a Class 8 fuel cell electric truck to take place in that country, said Hyundai.
The truck was unveiled this week at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Las Vegas, the largest advanced clean transportation technology and fleet event in North America.
Hyundai is collaborating on the project with autonomous driving software maker Plus, which already has a toe-hold in the Australian market with its involvement in the trial of an autonomous Iveco in Melbourne for Transurban.
Plus’s SuperDrive system uses a combination of sensors, including LiDAR, radar and cameras, to provide surround perception, planning, prediction and self-driving capabilities.
First introduced in 2020, Hyundai Motor’s XCIENT Fuel Cell truck has already conducted commercial operations in eight countries.
At last year’s ACT Expo, Hyundai introduced XCIENT Fuel Cell tractor, the commercialised Class 8 6×4 fuel cell electric model, powered by two 90kW hydrogen fuel cell systems and a 350kW e-motor, providing a driving range of over 450 miles per charge even when fully loaded.