Various vehicles can be said to be the cause of high levels of air pollution or air pollution. Exhaust gas produced from vehicles, be it motorbikes or cars, certainly contributes to the current bad air conditions.
For this reason, as a step towards realizing an environmentally friendly solution, the Hyundai Motor Group has planned to offer a hydrogen fuel-cell variant for its commercial vehicles in 2028.
This plan is also expected to minimize the cost or price of hydrogen-powered vehicles which are equivalent to electric vehicles in the next two years.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp, which are members of a group (Hyundai Kia Automotive Group), currently have one hydrogen-powered bus model and one fuel-cell truck model which is well-known as the Hyundai Xcient.
As the parent company from South Korea, Hyundai Kia Automotive Group also said it will develop fuel cell vehicles for Kia and the premium Genesis brand, which is targeted for launch after 2025.
Although there is no specific target for fuel-cell cars from passenger vehicle models, however, the company currently has one passenger vehicle model with hydrogen fuel, namely the Hyundai Nexo SUV.
The plan has been measured by its ambition to forge ahead with hydrogen technology, while Hyundai is also expanding its lineup of battery-based electric vehicles.
Proponents of hydrogen fuel-cell cars assert that this type is cleaner than other environmentally friendly cars, because it only produces exhaust gases in the form of water vapor and heat.
The challenge is that this technology is still limited in the automotive industry, then the high cost, the large size of the fuel cell system, the lack of refueling stations, to the resale value, and the risk of hydrogen explosion.
“Across the industry, around 10,000-15,000 units of fuel cell vehicles are produced globally per year, while electric vehicles reach 4-5 million units,” Hyundai said in a statement.
Hyundai Motor Group also said it plans to use hydrogen fuel cell technology in other areas such as autonomous container transportation.
