Settings

ⓕ font-size

  • -2
  • -1
  • 0
  • +1
  • +2

Hyundai partners with Audi for fuel cell EVs

  • Facebook share button
  • Twitter share button
  • Kakao share button
  • Mail share button
  • Link share button
Hyundai Motor's NEXO fuel cell electric vehicle / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
Hyundai Motor's NEXO fuel cell electric vehicle / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

By Nam Hyun-woo

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) has forged a multi-year strategic partnership with Audi, covering a broad range of fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) components and technologies, the automaker said Wednesday.

According to the group, the partnership will allow the two automotive giants to cross-license their patents on FCEVs and will cover not only HMG and Audi but their affiliates and parent companies including Kia Motors and Volkswagen.

HMG said it and its affiliates will equally share their intellectual property with Audi and their affiliates over the years to come. The duration of the agreement has not been disclosed.

As the first part of the partnership, HMG will allow its counterparts to access its parts, which are based on Hyundai's technology for developing the ix35 Fuel Cell and the Nexo FCEV.

"This agreement is another example of Hyundai's strong commitment to creating a more sustainable future whilst enhancing consumers' lives with hydrogen-powered vehicles, the fastest way to a truly zero-emission world," Hyundai Motor Company Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun said in an English statement.

"We are confident that the HMG-Audi partnership will successfully demonstrate the vision and benefits of FCEVs to the global society."

Though HMG did not elaborate further on which parts would be shared first, industry sources said they will likely be fuel cell stacks.

In FCEVs, fuel cell stack is an assembly of cells that produce electricity. It is regarded as one of the most important parts of an FCEV as it is directly linked with a vehicle's acceleration and traveling distance.

HMG said the partnership also creates new opportunities in the fuel cell components business and it plans to strengthen Hyundai Mobis' competitiveness in the industry by developing and supplying proprietary core components for Hyundai and Kia FCEVs.

Hyundai Mobis' plant in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, currently has a production capacity of 3,000 powertrain fuel cell complete modules per year. The modules are comprised of fuel stacks, drive motors, power electronic components and hydrogen fuel supply units.

Mobis will raise the plant's capacity to tens of thousands of PFC modules in the near future, depending on market demand, the group said.

The HMG-Audi alliance comes as a growing number of automakers are joining forces to prop up their FCEV capabilities.

Toyota and BMW have already forged an alliance for developing FCEV platforms to commercialize FCEVs by 2020. Honda and General Motors established a fuel cell joint venture earlier this month, while Renault Nissan, Ford and Daimler are co-developing FCEVs.

The Hyundai-Audi alliance will focus on the Chinese market. At the end of last year, China announced its FCEV roadmap which calls for the country having 1 million FCEVs and 1,000 FCEV charging stations by 2030.

According to a McKinsey study the market value of FCEVs and related industries will stand at $2.5 trillion and create 30 million jobs by 2050.

"Long ranges and short refueling times make hydrogen an attractive future energy source for electric mobility," a Hyundai official said. "Key aspects for its future market success include the regenerative production of hydrogen and the establishment of sufficient infrastructure."

Hyundai Motor Company is the world's first mass-producer of fuel cell vehicles. It has been offering SUV-Class FCEVs since 2013, and currently sells them in 18 countries around the world.


Nam Hyun-woo namhw@koreatimes.co.kr


X
CLOSE

Top 10 Stories

go top LETTER