Yes, what you’re seeing is a person, on a treadmill, breathing car exhaust as they do their usual training routine. That person is Hyundai Spain’s brand ambassador and an Olympic athlete, and that vehicle is a Hyundai Nexo – a purely hydrogen-powered vehicle that Hyundai says emits absolutely zero emissions. Of course, that’s not exactly true as hydrogen-powered vehicles emit water vapor, but we’ll leave that argument for another time.
The reason this actually works is because as the vehicle breaks down the hydrogen, it creates water vapor. The Nexo, however, also purifies the air it emits, which means that person in the gas bubble is most likely breathing cleaner air than you right now. Weird, huh? As weird as it seems, I should probably point out that you shouldn’t try this at home. Doing this with a normal vehicle will result in a permanent loss of life that you don’t want. And, you probably shouldn’t try it with your own NEXO either, if you happen to own one. The whole point is to prove that the Nexo – and hydrogen-powered vehicles as a whole – are safe for the environment… and people… obviously people.
Oddly enough, hydrogen-fueled vehicles have yet to take off, even in the limited capacity that electric cars have. Where electric cars have long recharge times, a hydrogen vehicle can be refilled in nearly the same amount of time it takes to fill a take of gasoline or diesel. But, there are two downsides, the first being that hydrogen fuel cells don’t tend to work in cold temperatures, and the other being that there is a serious lack of hydrogen fueling stations. For what it’s worth, Hyundai does say that the Nexo can operate in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. For now, enjoy the video, and, as I said before, don’t take this is as some stupid challenge. If you try it and kick the bucket, we’ll be forced to say you fell victim to natural selection.
Further reading
Read our full review on the 2019 Hyundai Nexo.