The firm announced that it would be working on a fuel cell-powered machine two years ago, with this novel machine now being shown. Hyundai Construction Machinery established a partnership with Hyundai’s on-road vehicle business to develop the fuel cell technology, which is now being proven in the automotive sector. A number of Hyundai trucks with fuel cell power units are now being tested in Switzerland, while passenger cars with these drive systems are under test all over Europe.
A launch date has yet to be announced for the fuel cell excavator and its price is likely to be significantly higher than for a conventional diesel machine. However, for applications such as tunnelling the fuel cell offers considerable benefits as the only emissions from the tailpipe are of water vapour.
Refuelling is said to take just 20 minutes while the performance is said to be comparable with a conventional diesel-driven wheeled excavator in the same size class.
