Hyundai to Offer Hydrogen Fuel Cell Versions of All Commercial Vehicles by 2028

Hyundai also said it plans to employ hydrogen fuel cell technology in other areas such as autonomous container transport.

By Reuters | Updated: 7 September 2021 13:26 IST

Hyundai to Offer Hydrogen Fuel Cell Versions of All Commercial Vehicles by 2028

The plans are measured ambitions to push ahead with hydrogen technology despite its relative niche status

Highlights

Hyundai and Kia together offer 20 models of commercial vehicles
The group will develop fuel cell vehicles for Kia
It did not mention specific targets for fuel cell versions

Hyundai Motor Group said on Tuesday it plans to offer hydrogen fuel cell versions for all its commercial vehicles by 2028 and will cut the price of fuel cell vehicles to battery electric levels two years later.

The group, which comprises Hyundai and Kia, currently has one fuel cell bus and one fuel cell truck, the Xcient Hyundai, on the market. There are 115 of the buses on the road in South Korea and 45 of the trucks in operation after they were rolled out in Switzerland last year.

The two South Korean automakers together offer 20 models of commercial vehicles including trucks, buses and vans, and sold about 287,000 last year.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

The group, whose only other fuel cell vehicle on the market is Hyundai's Nexo SUV, also said it will develop fuel cell vehicles for Kia and its premium Genesis brand, which could be launched after 2025. It did not mention specific targets for fuel cell versions of passenger vehicle models.

The plans are measured ambitions to push ahead with hydrogen technology despite its relative niche status, while the automakers also expand their battery electric vehicle line-up.

Advocates assert that hydrogen fuel cells are cleaner than other carbon-cutting methods as they only emit water and heat, but the technology has only seen limited usage in the auto industry amid concerns about high costs, the bulky size of fuel cell systems, the lack of fuelling stations, resale values, and the risk of hydrogen explosions.

Hyundai Pitches for Import Duty Cut on Electric Vehicles

Industry-wide, some 10,000-15,000 fuel cell vehicles are produced globally a year compared to 4-5 million electric vehicles, Hyundai said.

Other major automakers pursuing hydrogen fuel cell technology include Toyota, BMW, and Daimler. They have been encouraged as Europe and China have set ambitious emission reduction targets and talk of hydrogen infrastructure support increases.

Hyundai also said it also plans to employ hydrogen fuel cell technology in other areas such as autonomous container transport.

How will India's new liberalised drone rules impact the industry? And where are they left wanting? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.