Hyundai sends H2 fuel cell system to Europe

Hyundai is shipping its hydrogen fuel cell system to Europe for use by non-automotive companies.

It says the move to diversify use of fuel cell systems is key to its smart mobility strategy and reinforces its leadership in the development and mass production of fuel cell systems for vehicles and beyond.

The companies involved include a Swiss hydrogen solution firm, GRZ Technologies.

Hyundai became one of the few automobile manufacturers to export both fuel cell systems and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs).

Its fuel cell system leverages decades of experience. The company introduced its first fuel cell EV in 2000, the Santa Fe FCEV.

That was followed by the world’s first mass-produced FCEV, the ix35, in 2013, and the second-generation fuel cell SUV, the Nexo, in 2018.

Recently, the company successfully shipped the first 10 units of the Xcient Fuel Cell, the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell heavy-duty truck, to Switzerland.

Hyundai and GRZ Technologies have been pushing for cooperation in hydrogen storage technology since late last year.

GRZ has the technology to store about five to 10 times more hydrogen than before, with a pressure lower than 30 bar, which is significantly lower than the storage pressure of a normal hydrogen storage tank, 200 to 500 bar.

It is expected that this technology will be used in various ways through cooperation between the two companies.

Using Hyundai’s fuel cell system, GRZ plans to produce a stationary power supply system to be used for building electricity at peak times. The fuel cell system is based on the one used in the Hyundai Nexo.

In addition, Hyundai began shipping the fuel cell system to an energy solutions start-up that manufactures electric generators, which will use Hyundai’s system to produce mobile hydrogen generators.

“Hyundai’s fuel cell systems offer both diverse applicability and scalability well beyond zero-emissions vehicles,” Hyundai Motor Group fuel cell centre head and senior vice president Saehoon Kim says.

“By leveraging our system, our partners in mobility, infrastructure and energy can further advance the potential for a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem.”

Hyundai aims to secure a 700,000-unit-a-year production capacity of fuel cell systems for automobiles as well as for non-automotive sectors such as vessels, rail cars, drones and power generators by 2030.