The world needs to find long term alternate fuel sources. Fossil fuels, our primary energy source, are nonrenewable and harming the environment. President Biden has begun a campaign that will see some of the United State’s energy sources transferred to wind farms. Meanwhile, in South Korea, the government has committed to exploring the use of hydrogen as a renewable clean power source. One of the biggest supporters for the progression of hydrogen power is the Hyundai Motor Company based out of Seoul.

Hyundai may be best known in the United States for the cars they make, but in South Korea and the rest of the world, they play a major role in the supply and demand transportation industry. They provide the logistics and equipment needed to see goods transferred around the world via ships, trains, and trucks. On September 7, 2021, Hyundai Motor Company held a virtual forum called Hydrogen Wave to highlight how they plan to reinvent their logistics enterprises by 2040 with zero emission hydrogen fuel cell technology.

One of the most exciting ideas presented through Hydrogen Wave was Hyundai’s Trailer Drone e-Bogie system. Simply put, it is a long distance, large capacity drone that can be used to fulfill logistic needs, provide emergency services, or assist in construction. But of course, it is far more complex than that. It starts with the e-Bogie platform.

Bogies are the chassis upon which train cars sit. Each bogie has 4 wheels that control the movement of each trailer car. For Hyundai, they have taken the idea of a bogie and coupled it with a hydrogen fuel cell. The e-Bogie can drive a trailer with zero emissions in multiple configurations. Each e-Bogie can support a cargo container or be linked up with a second e-Bogie to haul multiple or larger containers. The wheels on the e-Bogie can even rotate to slide a trailer vertically out of a spot, no more K-turns needed.

The e-Bogie is partnered with the Trailer Drone, essentially an oversized ground delivery drone. The e-Bogie provides power and navigation while the Trailer Drone carries the cargo and enables safety redundancy measures. The drone is covered with a slew of cameras and sensors that can instantly alert the e-Bogie of obstacles. The drone is designed with energy saving aerodynamics. Energy can be even further reduced when the drones link up in a network. Traveling as a closely positioned pod along a roadway, each drone’s aerodynamic body benefits the next in the pod, like a bicycle peloton.

SangYup Lee, Senior Vice President and head of Hyundai & Genesis global design, envisions hydrogen powered mobility as a catalyst for the next wave of technology. “Do you remember when the smartphone was introduced to the public? It was a perfect storm of new technologies that resulted in the creation of a completely new value chain,” Lee says in the Hydrogen Wave forum. He goes on to say that the Trailer Drone e-Bogie “is a true multi-purpose platform that can be adapted to an even wider value chain.” Lee finishes his presentation by saying, “We will realize hydrogen mobility that will accelerate human progress.” The combined hydrogen power and agility of the e-Bogie with the assistance and cargo capacity of the Trailer Drone will revolutionize how products are shipped around the world.

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