The record-breaking run was from Melbourne to just outside Broken Hill, with the Hyundai Nexo fuel cell vehicle travelling 887.5km.

It exceeded the previous world record set by French aeronaut Bertrand Piccard, who travelled 778km, also in a Hyundai Nexo, across France from Sarraguemines to Le Bourget.

The Australian team used a production Nexo, identical to the 20 vehicles which are now joining the ACT government fleet and being used on a daily basis by a variety of directorates.

The Canberra cars are topped up at the country's first public hydrogen refuelling station in Fyshwick. The ACT government's fleet order was the first and largest of its kind in Australia.

Behind the wheel of the Nexo on the record-breaking run was Australian rally driver Brendan Reeves.

A representative from the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria was on hand to seal the Nexo's tank at the start of the journey, and an NRMA representative confirmed the validity of the tank seal at the end.

The distance measured by an isolated GPS unit on board the Nexo registered 903.4km, while the Google Maps distance showed 905km travelled. However, for the purposes of the test, the Nexo's own trip computer is used as the official distance recorder.

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The Nexo consumed a total of 6.27kg of hydrogen, at a rate of 0.706kg/100km, on its journey.

In doing so, it purified 449,100 litres of air - enough for 33 adults to breathe in a day - its plastic exhaust pipe emitting only water in vapour and droplet form throughout the trip. It emitted zero CO2.

Hyundai's Nexo is the first hydrogen-powered car certified (ADR) for sale in Australia. It is also the first fuel cell electric vehicle to be awarded the maximum five-star overall safety rating by Australia's crash safety authority ANCAP.

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