Macquarie Partners with Hyundai Motor to Enter the U.S. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Truck Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] Macquarie Group announced on the 27th that a consortium including Hyundai Motor Company and Macquarie Group has been selected for the largest hydrogen fuel cell truck commercialization project in the United States, supported by the California state government.

This project is an eco-friendly commercial truck bidding project under the ‘California Air Resources Board (CARB)’ and the ‘California Energy Commission (CEC)’ called the ‘California Port Clean Truck Program (NorCAL ZERO).’ Accordingly, 30 Hyundai Motor Company’s XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, supplied from early 2023, will replace high-polluting trucks that operated between the city of Oakland and the Port of Oakland.

The project is led by the U.S. non-profit organization supporting eco-friendly projects, ‘CTE,’ and aims to complete the value chain encompassing hydrogen supply, vehicle supply, leasing and financing, fleet operation, and after-service. Hyundai Motor Company, Macquarie, and specialized companies are collaborating on this.

FirstElement Fuel (FEF), a leader in California’s retail hydrogen industry, will provide hydrogen fuel and related infrastructure. NorCal KW will be responsible for truck service and maintenance, while Hyundai Glovis America will participate as the project operator.

Macquarie will support part of the total project funding through its global network and analyze the residual value of the 30 trucks. By making upfront investments in residual value, Macquarie will provide competitive leasing services and total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits to truck operators.

Julian Reedy, Senior Managing Director at Macquarie, stated, “Macquarie is actively investing in green energy to transition to a decarbonized and carbon-neutral economy. This project is a very important milestone for Macquarie as we pursue similar projects worldwide in the future.”

Macquarie Group is currently developing, constructing, investing in, and operating green energy projects including wind, solar, and hydrogen with a capacity of 50GW. Since 2010, it has invested in or arranged financing for green energy projects totaling AUD 63 billion (approximately KRW 54 trillion). From 2018 to last year, it was ranked as the world’s number one renewable energy financial advisor.