Global race for hydrogen commercial vehicles heats up — Korea needs a 'hydrogen logistics corridor'

The race for dominance in the global hydrogen commercial vehicle market is heating up again. Toyota has signed a binding agreement to join Daimler Truck and Volvo Group in the hydrogen fuel cell venture Cellcentric, while governments in China, Japan and the EU are accelerating support for building out hydrogen ecosystems.

South Korea, which has led hydrogen commercial vehicle technology and demonstration operations through Hyundai Motor, now faces calls to establish a government-led support framework — including a dedicated hydrogen logistics corridor — to translate its technological edge into market leadership.

According to industry sources, Toyota signed a binding contract in July to take a stake in Cellcentric, the hydrogen fuel cell joint venture established by Daimler Truck and Volvo Group. Once the deal clears regulatory approval, each of the three companies will hold a 33.3 percent stake in the venture.

Daimler Truck and Volvo Group jointly founded Cellcentric in 2021, each contributing a 50 percent stake, to develop and produce hydrogen fuel cells for heavy-duty trucks. Under the new agreement, Toyota will supply Cellcentric with core fuel cell technologies covering cells, materials and stacks.

Industry observers expect the partnership — combining the heavy commercial vehicle clout of Daimler Truck and Volvo Group with Toyota's broad influence in the global automotive market — to accelerate both the development and mass production of hydrogen fuel cell technology for large commercial vehicles. The alliance also raises the prospect of expanding the global hydrogen commercial vehicle competition beyond vehicle development into related industries such as components and charging infrastructure.

Demand for eco-friendly commercial vehicles in global logistics is also growing, driven by tightening carbon neutrality policies and stricter diesel emissions regulations worldwide. For medium- and long-haul transport in particular, hydrogen electric trucks are seen as having an advantage over battery electric trucks in terms of refueling time and driving range. A complementary approach — deploying both powertrains depending on route and use case — is also gaining traction.

Governments around the world are also treating hydrogen commercial vehicles as a key tool for decarbonizing the transport sector, stepping up policy and infrastructure support. China set aside about 8.5 billion yuan ($1.26 billion) in performance-linked funding across five pilot city clusters during the first pilot program period from 2021 to 2025. Through incentives including fuel subsidies and toll reductions, the program helped deploy a cumulative total of about 40,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and 574 hydrogen refueling stations.

China then announced in March a target to deploy 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles by 2030 through a comprehensive hydrogen application pilot program. The plan centers on building hydrogen highways for heavy-duty trucks and long-distance logistics while simultaneously generating hydrogen demand across various industries, with a goal of bringing the final retail price of hydrogen below 25 yuan per kilogram by 2030.

Japan is pursuing a "hydrogen artery" initiative that would concentrate 1,500 hydrogen commercial vehicles on major east-west trunk routes over the next decade, aiming to generate annual hydrogen demand of 7,500 tons along those corridors. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is also reviewing deregulation measures and cost-support schemes to accelerate the adoption of hydrogen commercial mobility.

The EU is pursuing a parallel track of regulation and infrastructure expansion. Standards now require manufacturers of newly registered heavy vehicles — including trucks and buses — to cut average CO₂ emissions by 45 percent by 2030, 65 percent by 2035 and 90 percent by 2040, all against a 2019 baseline. Under the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, member states must build hydrogen refueling stations at 200-kilometer intervals along the core Trans-European Transport Network by 2030 and provide at least one public hydrogen refueling station at every urban node.

South Korea has built up hydrogen commercial vehicle technology and real-world operational experience, led by Hyundai Motor. The company became the world's first automaker to mass-produce a heavy-duty hydrogen electric truck — the Xcient fuel cell electric truck — in 2020, and has since deployed the vehicles at logistics sites in Switzerland, Germany, France, the United States, Canada and Uruguay. As of July, the fleet has logged more than 27 million kilometers.

However, as global competition shifts from vehicle technology to a broader ecosystem battle encompassing charging, maintenance and operational systems, analysts say government support and regulatory reform are emerging as the decisive variables in securing market leadership.

Industry players argue that South Korea must establish a government-led hydrogen logistics corridor. The proposal calls for designating hydrogen logistics corridors along major freight arteries, then using that framework to develop medium- and long-term deployment strategies for hydrogen commercial vehicles and charging infrastructure — creating demand for large hydrogen freight trucks and building a stable operating environment.

There are also calls to reduce the total cost of ownership for hydrogen freight trucks. Industry voices argue the government should expand existing support measures such as fuel subsidies and highway toll reductions, and explore ways to encourage shippers and transport operators to switch to eco-friendly vehicles.

"The collaboration between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group, which represent the heavy commercial vehicle market, and Toyota, which carries significant influence in the global automotive industry, is expected to highlight the growth potential of the hydrogen commercial vehicle market and inject fresh momentum into it," an industry official said.