A Hyundai Nexo in Australia recently travelled 887.5 km (551.4 miles) on a single tank of hydrogen, beating the previous record of 778 km (483.4 miles)
Automakers all around the world are focussing on eco-friendly mobility these days. Manufacturers are now rolling out electric vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, etc., and these electrified vehicles are steadily gaining popularity among buyers around the world. Thanks to advancements in technology, these green cars can sometimes even outperform their petrol/diesel-powered counterparts!
Australian Rally Driver Brendan Reeves recently proved this point, when he took a Hyundai Nexo FCEV on an 887.5 km journey across his home country, without any refuelling stops! He drove the vehicle from Essendon Fields in Melbourne to Broken Hill in New South Wales, and the official trip distance was as per the vehicle’s trip computer.
According to a GPS unit in the vehicle, the journey was a little longer, at 903.4 km (561.3 miles). Google maps calculated the distance to be 905 km (562.3 miles). However, for the purpose of the test, these two figures were not considered. Regardless, the Nexo was able to set a new world record for the longest distance travelled by an FCEV on a single tank of hydrogen, beating the previous record of 778 km (483.4 km) set by Bertrand Piccard in 2019, also in a Hyundai Nexo.
The journey took 13 hours and 6 minutes, with an average speed of 66.9 kmph (41.5 mph). The vehicle consumed 6.27 kg of hydrogen and purified 4,49,100 litres of air. Speaking on the achievement, Reeves commented: “Being a rally driver, I’ve always wanted to achieve a world record, but I could never have guessed it would come about this way.”
“I was constantly checking the Nexo’s efficiency readout to maximise the distance I was getting per kilogram of hydrogen. I found that by using techniques from rally driving, such as looking as far down the road as possible, as well as tips I have learned from my dad for driving a truck efficiently over long distances, it’s actually possible to go way beyond Nexo’s official range” He said.
Hyundai Nexo is powered by a 95 kW hydrogen fuel cell, along with a 40 kWh battery pack. The latter is paired with an electric motor, rated at 163 PS and 395 Nm of peak power and torque, respectively. It is classified as a zero-emission vehicle, as its tailpipe emissions consist mainly of water vapour.
