Hyundai testing novel hydrogen production as part of green push

HYUNDAI Motor’s plant in Georgia has been running its internal logistics operations using hydrogen and the South Korean automaker has been testing domestic production of the fuel using biogas from food scraps as part of its push to build a sustainable energy future around the gas.

The company’s so-called Metaplant facility in the US state, which makes electric vehicles and batteries, is using hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, whose energy density “has the ability to have less range anxiety because you can go a greater distance”, Jim Park, Hyundai’s head of commercial vehicles and hydrogen business development for North America, said.

Hyundai has pledged to invest some 5.7 trillion won ($5.4 billion) over the next decade to build a future around hydrogen, looking beyond car manufacturing to meet its own climate goals and accelerate the world’s green transition. The company has said it aims to achieve net zero by 2045 and become carbon neutral across all stages of production and operation.

“When it comes to hydrogen, it’s really an end-to-end solution from transporting, storing, dispensing and then utilisation,” Park said ahead of the Bloomberg New Economy forum in Sao Paulo. “We look at the full spectrum of the hydrogen economy.”

As the global car industry shifts away from fossil fuels, Hyundai has gone big on touting hydrogen as a carbon-free alternative, one that can be produced by carbon capture or electrolysis of water powered by renewable energy. Hyundai sees hydrogen playing a key role in the commercial vehicle sector because its higher storage density offers an advantage both in weight and range versus battery-powered vehicles, he said.

Under its hydrogen business brand HTWO, Hyundai plans to expand the use of the technology to trains, advanced air mobility applications and sea vessels, he added.

But while hydrogen offers faster refuelling and a longer range, the absence of refuelling infrastructure and mass-market applications will make wider adoption a slim prospect at least in the near term. To that end, Hyundai has been cooperating with governments to address the issue, including taking part in a $7 billion hydrogen project in the US to accelerate the deployment of infrastructure, Park said.

Asked about the upcoming US elections – Donald Trump has expressed his dislike of hydrogen-powered cars, suggesting they can explode – Park acknowledged the former president’s remarks but said: “We think hydrogen should be agnostic on either side of the aisle. It’s a real clean energy that offers many solutions.” BLOOMBERG