Hyundai’s wide-ranging hydrogen revolution accelerates with the reveal of the 500kW Vision FK sports car prototype and the e-Bogie autonomous commercial transport.
Hyundai Motor Group today announced that it will launch next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell power units in 2023 that will double the power output, halve the cost, and reduce package size by 30 per cent compared to current systems – in a wide-ranging plan to offer “hydrogen for everyone and everything” by 2040.
By 2028, Hyundai Motor Group – parent of Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands – says it will have applied fuel-cell systems to all of its heavy commercial vehicle (large truck) models, significantly reducing transport-related CO2 emissions.
By 2030, Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) will have achieved price parity with Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), the brand says.
And by 2040, Hyundai expects hydrogen to be “for everyone, everything and everywhere”, triggering a lifestyle revolution it says compares to the emergence of the mobile smartphone in 2006.
Hyundai Motor Group’s (HMG) Hydrogen Vision 2040 was presented as part of its Hydrogen Wave global online forum held today. It sets out the company’s vision for the future of hydrogen energy and a global hydrogen society.
Two of the focal points of today’s presentation were the Vision FK sports car and the e-Bogie commercial application. The e-Bogie is a fuel-cell-powered autonomous trailer that could revolutionise commercial transportation, and the Vision FK is a 500kW, hydrogen-powered high-performance prototype coupe capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in under four seconds, and offering a range of 600km.
The Vision FK’s fuel cell unit carries N Performance branding, suggesting that it would be a future Hyundai N model rather than a luxury-focused Genesis.
HMG’s head of research and development Albert Biermann would not be drawn on when the Vision FK would go from prototype to production, but he did confirm that the next-generation Nexo fuel-cell SUV will launch “in the second half of 2023 followed by a Staria” people mover FCEV.
“We are also working of course on fuel-cell cars for Kia and Genesis. That will take a little longer time. After 2025 you can expect further fuel cell applications.
“We are working full throttle on commercial [first] because that is the most effective way to avoid CO2. We are putting a lot of focus on fuel cells, not only for passenger cars but also for commercial vehicles.”
HMG’s Chairman Euisun Chung is even more emphatic about the importance of hydrogen fuel cell applications to a sustainable future.
“This may be the last train to a Hydrogen Society, and time is running out. Hydrogen is the most powerful and pragmatic solution to overcoming environmental challenges. Hydrogen mobility will accelerate human progress.”
Today’s Hydrogen Wave forum was as much about building global participation and momentum behind the concept of a hydrogen society as it was to reveal HMG’s hydrogen portfolio because further production improvements and economies of scale are crucial if today’s predictions are to be realised.
Australia may have a role to play, says HMG Chairman Chung.
“We know Australia is a country with vast and abundant renewable energy. We are exploring business opportunities in Australia with our partners. Our goal is to build a sustainable ecosystem for [a] global hydrogen society.”
Mr Chung would not be drawn further on who those partners could be, although it’s public knowledge that Hyundai has partnered with Jemena and Coregas to supply green hydrogen to Hyundai Australia’s current fuel cell fleet.
“We are seeing all countries preparing for the Hydrogen Society,” says HMG’s head of fuel cell development, Saehoon Kim, “but what we need is [advances in] production technology.”
Mr Kim said further production process development as third parties get onboard the hydrogen train is crucial to delivering on Hyundai’s 2030 goal of price parity with BEVs.
“The material itself is not so expensive. We need to save cost in production and processing. We need more development.
“In the battery area work is well advanced. In the fuel-cell area, we need more time … Mass production is coming by 2030 … and I think we can get the cost down very dramatically by then.”
Mr Kim says it’s worth remembering that fuel-cell development has come a long way since Hyundai’s hydrogen development journey began in 1998.
“Our 2003 fuel cell prototype [cost] triple the price of my house in Seoul,” he said. “By 2013 when we launched Tucson FCEV the cost was down to just 10 per cent of the original. The next generation fuel cell system [due in 2023] will be just one fifth of that – two percent of the original.”
One of the most recent cost-saving developments was replacing more expensive graphite materials in the fuel cell’s bipolar plates with more affordable stainless steel.
However, Hyundai’s head of R&D, Albert Biermann, acknowledges that fuel-cell technology is not ready for the private transport world just yet.
“With a fuel-cell car we cannot beat the battery -electric vehicle right now. But this is just starting and the potential for fuel cell technology has not fully been deployed yet.”
Biermann says Hyundai’s internal-combustion engine (ICE) technology still has a role to play in the short term, but its days are numbered, especially in the commercial vehicle arena.
“We will not immediately phase out ICE commercial vehicles, but we are not starting any new developments of ICE. No new models and no new platforms. Everything will go forward with BEV and FCEV.”
As for how much of the market battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) will own and how much will become fuel-cell cars (FCEVs), Biermann cannot say.
“It depends a lot on the regional situation and the support in the region for availability of hydrogen. It also depends on the application. In some areas battery electric might have majority. In other applications, especially commercial vehicle or fleet operation, we will see more fuel cell electric. So it’s hard to tell a share at this point in time, but of course we are preparing both ways.”
According to Hyundai’s head of fuel cell development, Mr SangYup Lee, FCEV technology has one huge advantage over BEV: “The main problem with BEV is the scalability of batteries. For a small EV it’s okay, but for commercial large scale the question immediately is …. How are we going to stack all these batteries with the heavy weight, and who is going to be happy with the low range? So, in this case fuel cell fits perfectly.”
Hyundai’s heavy commercial fuel cell program is already well advanced. In mid-2020, 45 Hyundai Xcient fuel cell trucks began commercial operation in Switzerland. According to Biermann, the trucks cover 210,000km per month and have saved 130 tonnes of CO2 emissions every month in operation.
The key to Hyundai’s commercial strategy is its third-generation fuel-cell system, which is in the final stages of development. Hyundai expects to launch two units in 2023, one producing 100kW for passenger vehicles and SUVs (including the next Nexo and Staria FCEVs), and a 200kW unit for commercial applications which can be applied singularly or in multiples for a modular approach.
According to Mr Lee, “by using two systems for trucks we can provide around 350kW which is equivalent to the power of current diesel engines.”
The big challenge with long-haul, zero-emission, heavy-duty truck operation is refuelling infrastructure, refuelling time and range.
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