Hyundai put a runner inside a bubble of Nexo exhaust

Hyundai bills the Nexo as a zero-emission vehicle, but technically that’s not true. It emits water, along with 99.9-percent-filtered oxygen, as byproducts of the hydrogen-to-energy conversion process. Some people who are stuck on the idea of a traditional internal-combustion car might have a hard time believing nothing harmful comes out of the Nexo, so Hyundai wanted to demonstrate that fact as clearly as possible. As such, it put Olympic athlete (and brand ambassador) Mireia Belmonte and a treadmill in a sealed air bubble connected to the Nexo’s exhaust. Do not try this at home with any vehicle. 

The visually alarming video, which caught the attention of Motor1, is part of a new campaign for Hyundai Spain. The marketing spot works tangentially with the “Hyundai Eco Road Show,” a multi-stop tour through Spain that demonstrates the benefits of Hyundai’s newest eco-friendly rides. The Nexo is the first hydrogen-electric SUV registered in Spain, and like electric vehicles, it needs all the introductions, explanations, and promotion it can get.

The image shown here gives a simplistic reminder of how the Nexo works. Three separate hydrogen tanks feed into the fuel cell stacks. There, at the anode, the particles are broken down into electrons and protons. The electrons produce a current to supply power to a battery and an electric motor that drives the front wheels. Meanwhile, the protons pass through a membrane to react with electrons and collected oxygen that’s sucked in through an air intake at the cathode, and H20 is created. That excess water exits through the exhaust. 

So, in reality, the air in Belmonte’s bubble should actually be cleaner than the air that surrounds most people, at least those in cities. To ensure the safety of Belmonte, Camde Sports Medical Center Director Dr. Vicente de la Varga Salto was on hand. Again, do not try this at home. Instead, just watch the videos above and below.