Group behind Hyundai and Kia says it aims to halve the cost of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles by 2023, plan for extensive fuel-cell commercial vehicles and other applications

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• Reduction in the cost of FCEV systems by 50 percent in 2023
• FCEV to match EV price point by 2030
• Fuel cell commercial vehicles by 2028
• New-gen fuel-cell tech with widespread applications

Seoul, Korea - In a remote press conference today, the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) announced its ‘Hydrogen Vision 2040’, with the aim of promoting a hydrogen-powered alternative to current mobility.

In its own words, it wants hydrogen for “Everyone, Everything, and Everywhere...to apply fuel cell systems to all types of mobility and furthering the technology to all other aspects of society including homes, buildings and powerplants as energy solutions.” 

“The goal is to make hydrogen readily used for everyone, everything, and everywhere,” said HMG chairman Euisin Chung “We want to offer practical solutions for the sustainable development of humanity and with these breakthroughs, we aim to help foster a worldwide Hydrogen Society by 2040.”

The Group’s vision includes the use of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) to power not just passenger cars, but to also replace diesels in heavy vehicles and industrial applications. At the conference, HMG showed off fuel cell (FC) powered concepts including a sports car, heavy truck/tractor, a mobile FC generator and more.

Even more eye-opening is its statement that it aims to promote “the complete transition of Korea’s public transportation and logistics systems to hydrogen-based solutions” as a sort of pilot project for wider adoption elsewhere.

Cheaper FCEVs on the way

The best way to sell a technology is to make it sexy, and the Vision FK is HMG’s attempt at that. This being a ‘more than five-years-ahead’ concept, there are no details about chassis or suspension tech, but the drivetrain is the exciting bit. 

Hyundai says the FK could have more than 500kW/670hp, hit 100km/h from zero in less than four seconds, and pack a range in excess of 600km. Interestingly, it could be a plug-in fuel-cell electric vehicle (PFCEV), using charging from the grid for short range, and using its fuel-cell for longer journeys. But HMG has something that will be more exciting to far more people: More affordable FCEV cars.

It addressed the cost of FCEVs have been overstated in the past, now dropped by 98 percent since the first prototype in 2003. It also significantly reduced the amount of platinum needed in the catalyst, and says that possibly more cost savings could come with economies of scale.

Dr Saehoon Kim, HMG’s Fuel Cell Centre chief, said: “Our cost reduction here has been driven by technology progress such as reducing the number of components, using less materials, replacing material with more cost effective ones. But we know that in mass production, raw material cost is a key factor. Our fuel cell systems use mostly conventional material, some of it is special like membranes, but that’s only a few hundred grammes - considering material base there is no reason why FC should be expensive.”

Next-gen Fuel Cell

Currently Hyundai has the Nexo FCEV SUV, which uses the Group’s second-gen FCEV powertrain. The Nexo is on sale in the USA in limited places, but the sticking point is that it costs almost as much as a BMW M3, or US$60,000+.

HMG announced the third-gen FC powertrain at the event, which is due to hit the market in 2023. It did not mention exactly which application that would be in, but our guess is a possible successor to the Nexo SUV. 

It has shrunk by a third compared to the previous-gen, and more importantly sees a claimed durability increase of 50 to 100 percent, at the same time the production price of the tech has been reduced by ‘more than 50 percent’.

With that prediction, HMH says it aims to achieve price parity with electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 - and by then, presumably, battery cell costs would have advanced and/or achieved enough economies of scale to become more affordable than they are now. 

Hyundai also mentioned a low-profile FC ‘Full-Flat system’ 25cm high, which can be implemented in a variety of applications including commercial vehicles, MPVs, buses, and trams.

Hyundai’s ‘E-Bogie’ concept shows this off, as a basic, enclosed mobility system with a fuel cell powertrain and independent all-wheel steering, that can run as a cargo container mover, or even as a Rescue Drone. In fact, the company says FC tech could be applied in ‘high-performance vehicles, urban air mobility, robots, aircrafts and large ships.’

Page 2: Where fuel cells will do the heavy lifting of (hopefully) saving the earth

Page 1: Why Hyundai's fuel cells will become much cheaper

Heavy water 

That’s where the real meat for hydrogen is, not in passenger cars, but in heavy industrial applications. A key example are heavy commercial vehicles -  such as 18-wheeler or container trucks - which require fast refuelling times and long range that even current electric car tech has a difficult time matching.

Whether batteries can be an alternative fuel for heavy vehicles is still up for debate, but it could be with smaller batteries and a more mature charge network. Even then, hydrogen tech would overcome weight and refuelling challenges for heavy trucks. And there’s another plus: Shipping and air transport also contribute significantly to pollution, and you can’t recharge in the air or at sea, which is why hydrogen planes and ships could help.

Hyundai’s first FC truck was the 2020 Xcient Fuel Cell, which it says was the world’s first full-production FC truck, and a ‘greatly improved’ version, along with a tractor model, is now going into production. 

The third-gen FC tech will also provide the cornerstone for commercial applications. Along with the previously-mentioned increase to reliability/lifespan, the system is modular and based on 100kW ‘stacks’, which can be combined for outputs of up to 1MW (megawatt). 

HMG also states its intent to ‘fully re-energise’ its global commercial vehicle offerings - which now amount to around 400,000 new vehicles per annum - with FCEVs. The first will be a five to seven-metre commercial/goods vehicle, likely a customisable lorry with two or more axles.  

Just hot air, or is HMG into something?

Just like battery tech/electric vehicle tech though, the answer to whether or not a hydrogen economy will work hinges on infrastructure: Basically, whether a reliable and safe hydrogen distribution network be set-up, and can green hydrogen be cheaply produced, delivered and stored in a carbon-neutral manner. 

When asked why HMG is pushing forward with hydrogen tech despite other conglomerates and carmakers abandoning it, Chung positioned HMG as a trend-setter in a time where drastic action is needed. He said: “It’s important to remember that shifting to renewables is difficult without hydrogen. No single company or private sector can do it alone, and HMG couldn’t take a back seat on such a pressing agenda so we decided to lead this change which is critical for a sustainable future.” 

HMG has an unlikely ally - and rival - in the form of Japanese conglomerates, which have been the most prominent backers of the hydrogen economy.

In the car world, that’s most notably Toyota. Toyota recently unveiled a hydrogen-powered race car as a halo project which proved hydrogen can even be a near-direct replacement for gasoline. But it has also come under criticism for hobbling electric vehicles through its lobbying and even been accused of flogging the hydrogen dead horse.

But critics of hydrogen tech often make the argument either-or (Elon Musk derided the technology as ‘dumb') when in fact they are complementary technologies.

A fuel-cell plug-in could be a clean-burning PHEV alternative, and if hydrogen cars are not be a current solution, hydrogen is likely to be the best solution for heavy industrial applications and freight or public transport as current research (link, link) has shown. It’s there that huge amounts of pollution are emitted, far more than passenger cars which have the benefit of being always visible to our consumer eyes. Case in point - Mercedes-Benz's parent company Daimler has supposedly abandoned FCEV cars, but is now developing FCEV trucks.

“The degree and frequency of environmental disasters is rising fast and we now face a code red warning for humanity,”  said Chung during the presentations closing remarks. “The Group seeks to offer powerful and pragmatic solutions for combatting climate change via the tremendous potential of hydrogen energy.”
Hydrogen can help boost lower emissions in critical places where pure electric/battery power simply cannot. If it catches on like K-Pop, at least it could help save the world.    

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