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Hydrogen fuel cells are undoubtedly the future for heavy trucks but right now, a combination of factors means this still seems a long way off.

The first of Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell-powered, heavy duty trucks will be put to work in 2020 on the roads of Switzerland in what promises to be a landmark date for the haulage industry in Europe.

Part of an order for 1,600 trucks that will be delivered between January 2020 and 2025, the vehicles will be leased out through Hyundai Hydrogen Mobility, a consortium of refuelling stations, logistics and transport companies, in the opening wave of a bold vision for a Europe-wide, fuel cell-driven logistics sector.

Aided by increasingly stiff taxes and other financial penalties on diesel trucks, Hyundai’s grand plan is to build a base for the technology in Europe, followed by the US and other countries.

The giant South Korean manufacturer, which has been turning out fuel cell-powered cars for nearly six years, is a pioneer of the technology. In fact, Hyundai is practically betting its future on fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). By 2030, it expects to be rolling out around 500,000 passenger and commercial FCEVs a year. And Switzerland is where it starts.