Hyundai rolls out South America's first hydrogen truck fleet for timber logistics in Uruguay

South America's first operational hydrogen truck fleet has arrived — in Uruguay, of all places. Hyundai Motor has supplied eight XCIENT Fuel Cell Class-8 heavy-duty trucks as part of the Kahirós Project, a private-sector initiative to decarbonise timber logistics in the country. The trucks are 37.2-tonne tractor units equipped with a 180 kW fuel cell system, capable of covering up to 720 kilometres on a single fill.

The project is led by Kahirós Associates, a joint venture of three Uruguayan companies: Ventus (energy), Fraylog (logistics) and Fidocar, Hyundai's local distributor. Funding of around $40 million comes from Santander Group, backed by a $20 million loan from the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank and a $1 million contribution from the UN's Renewable Energy Innovation Fund.

What sets the project apart is the fully integrated green hydrogen supply chain being built around it. A 4.8 MW solar park in Fray Bentos will power a 2 MW electrolyser capable of producing around 77 tonnes of green hydrogen per year — enough to keep the six primary trucks running, with two additional units held in reserve. Full operations are expected to start in November 2026, with an annual mileage target of close to one million kilometres for the main fleet.

Uruguay's energy profile makes it a logical choice for this kind of project: the country generated 99% of its electricity from renewables in 2024, keeping the green credentials of locally produced hydrogen intact. For Hyundai, it is a further step in the global roll-out of the XCIENT platform, which already has 165 trucks on European roads with over 20 million kilometres logged, and 63 units operating across North America. Latin America is the next frontier.