Hyundai has set a new distance record for production hydrogen-powered vehicles with the Nexo.

Driven by French aeronaut and president of the Solar Impulse Foundation, Bertrand Piccard, the car completed 778 km (483.4 miles) across northern France on a single refuel, and still had 49 km (30.4 miles) of range left at the end of the journey.

The journey began at the FaHyence hydrogen station in Sarreguemines on Monday 25 November, a place chosen because of the Grand Est Region's commitment to responsible mobility, concluding the next day at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Le Bourget near Paris.

The journey produced a CO2 reduction of 111.2 kg compared to a similar petrol-powered car over the same distance, while it purified 404.6 kL of air, the volume of air that 23 adults breathe every day.

A number of key figures joined Piccard for the journey – Jean Rottner, President of the Grand Est Region in France; Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Michel Delpon, MP for the Dordogne and President of the Hydrogen Study Group at the French National Assembly; Benoît Potier, CEO of Air Liquide; Bruno Le Maire, France's Minister of Economy and Finance; Elisabeth Borne, France's Minister of Ecological and Solidarity Transition; and S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco.

"With this adventure, we have proven that with clean technologies, we no longer need revolutionary experimental prototypes to break records. Everyone can now do it with standard zero-emission vehicles," said Piccard. "A new era in performance is beginning, for the benefit of environmental protection."

This isn't Piccard's first 'extraordinary challenge', he previously completed the first solo round the world trip in a baloon, and the first round the world trip in a solar-powered plane. Meanwhile Hyundai is a key player int he development of alternative-powered vehicles, and is the first manufacturer to mass produce hydrogen-powered cars.