The Hydrogen Garbage Truck didn’t use unprecedented technologies. With the simple principle that hydrogen cars only emit water, we solved the garbage truck problem harming the environment and sanitation workers’ health. It’s noteworthy that this chronic dilemma was not considered an issue.

This campaign gained public consensus by revisiting the hazardous work environment of sanitation workers. Post-campaign, the Korean government plans to replace future garbage trucks with Hydrogen Garbage Trucks. Also, Hyundai Motor Group decided to mass-produce portable sinks as an option for all future hydrogen trucks. All these innovations sparked from the world’s first Hydrogen Garbage Truck.

The Hydrogen Garbage Truck was manufactured based on the previous hydrogen truck. In the case of previous hydrogen cars, water generated after electricity generation was converted into vapor form and discharged through the exhaust port. For the Hydrogen Garbage Truck, the generated water had to supply the portable sink, so the generated water was collected in a separate tank and delivered to the portable sink through a pump. The vehicle production cost was about $128,000, and the portable sink production cost was $9,600.

To not interfere with sanitation workers’ workflow, the portable sink was created in a drawer form that can be accessed when necessary. The used water was collected in a separate tank to discard separately. (It is illegal to litter on the road in Korea)

We see garbage trucks daily. The problem is that the truck’s gas, noise, and heat emission are threatening sanitation workers’ health. Due to emission from garbage trucks, the lung function of sanitation workers are worse than mining workers, causing a high risk of lung cancer. As a response, Hyundai Motor Group presented a special garbage truck designed only for sanitation workers with hydrogen car technology.

- Vehicle development: December 2019 - December 2020 (a year total)

- Vehicle assembly completed March 2020

- Test operation: September 2020 - December 2020

- Actual operation: Began in January 2021 and operates to this day

The Hydrogen Garbage Truck combines hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen in a fuel cell system to create water (effluent); They generate electrical energy through this process, and this does not emit exhaust gas except for clean water and air. Of course, it generates heat when the electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen occurs, but the cooling water surrounding the fuel cell system traps the heat.

The hydrogen cleaning truck only makes a small mechanical sound of the electric motor while it is running or collecting garbage, with almost no noise or vibrations. According to an internal analysis of the Hyundai Motor Group research institute, the overall noise of the hydrogen cleaning truck has been reduced by about 40% compared to the regular one.

Also, we have prepared a portable sink for them. The hydrogen Garbage Truck is equipped with two water tanks. The first tank stores the drained water, and the workers can add more water using the second tank for the washbasin if needed. The average amount of discharged water generated by the hydrogen cleaning truck for one hour is 22.5 liters; just storing this water to wash dirty hands and faces would greatly improve their working conditions.

After the campaign, positive responses about Hyundai Motor Groups’ hydrogen cars have increased by 40%. The campaign film, which depicted the entire process of manufacturing Hydrogen Garbage Car, was watched by 80% of the Korean population(43M Views). It’s noteworthy that the majority of viewers were MZ generations with a high interest in sustainable vehicles.

The Hydrogen Garbage Truck campaign also had an impact on hydrogen car sales. After the campaign execution, Hyundai Motor Group’s hydrogen car NEXO’s sales increased by 29.3%.

After receiving stellar reviews, the Korean government announced plans to replace all garbage trucks sequentially with Hydrogen Garbage Trucks in the future. This is one of the biggest achievements of our campaign.

As a portable sink received great reviews from sanitation workers, Hyundai Motor Group announced to mass-produce the function as an option for hydrogen trucks. (Announcement in March 2022)