Hyundai Motor： ＂Hydrogenation＂ for ＂Double Carbon＂

Beijing, March 20 (Reporter Jiang Peng) Actively promote and implement the goal of "double carbon" and realize the green energy revolution is still the focus of the "two sessions" in 2024. The Report on the Work of the State Council Government in 2024 proposes to promote the green transformation of industrial structure, energy structure, transportation structure and urban and rural construction and development. Implement the strategy of comprehensive conservation, further promote the energy revolution, control the consumption of fossil energy, and accelerate the construction of a new energy system.

As a key area to achieve the goal of "double carbon", the automobile industry has always been one of the keys to the green transformation of practical industries. During the "two sessions" in 2024, representatives of the automobile industry made suggestions and suggestions on reaching the standard of "double carbon", including suggesting the establishment of a unified product carbon footprint management system for the automobile industry and exploring the establishment of an all-solid-state battery standard system.

In recent years, new energy vehicles have become an important carrier and key implementation of "double carbon" standards. In addition to electrification, hydrogen energy has also received attention.

As early as March 23, 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the Medium-and Long-Term Plan for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035) (hereinafter referred to as the Plan), which clarified the energy properties of hydrogen and made it an integral part of the future national energy system, giving full play to the clean and low-carbon characteristics of hydrogen energy, and promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of energy-consuming terminals such as transportation and industry and industries with high energy consumption and high emissions.

This made Hyundai Motor Group, which ranked the top three in the world in sales for two consecutive years, smell the opportunity.

Three characteristics

The development of hydrogen energy in modern automobiles has three main characteristics.

The first is that the planning and layout are early and the products are mature in commercialization. As early as 1998, Hyundai Motor set up a fuel cell development department, and in 1999, Hyundai Motor cooperated with project mercury to develop hydrogen fuel vehicles.

In 2000, Hyundai Motor started Polaris project in conjunction with G7 project of South Korean government, and began to independently develop hydrogen fuel cell vehicle system. In the same year, Hyundai Motor introduced the first hydrogen-fueled vehicle product, Santa Fe FCEV, which became the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in Korea.

In 2005, Hyundai Motor brought the first fuel cell bus in the field of commercial vehicles, realizing "taking business at the same time" and promoting the development of hydrogen energy.

In 2013, Hyundai Motor released the world’s first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle IX35FCEV; In 2018, NEXO, a modern new generation of hydrogen fuel cell SUV, came out …

Up to now, Hyundai Motor has established bases in South Korea, Europe, the United States, etc., not only launching a series of hydrogen fuel vehicle products, but also establishing a complete hydrogen fuel cell energy system, owning the exclusive brand HTWO of hydrogen fuel cell system, which has certain advantages in technology and scale.

This is also the second feature.

For example, NEXO launched in 2018 is equipped with the newly developed new generation fuel cell system. Compared with ix35 FCEV, NEXO has a 25% acceleration capability, greater torque and a 40% cruising range. Under NEDC standards, the cruising range under comprehensive working conditions exceeds 800 kilometers.

(Photo courtesy of the manufacturer, issued by Yangguang. com)

It has also been recognized by the market. After listing, it has successively surpassed Toyota Mirai and Honda Clarity to become the best-selling hydrogen fuel passenger car. As of October 2023, the cumulative sales volume of NEXO in the world exceeded 37,000.

In the field of commercial vehicles, including South Korea, Switzerland and the United States, Hyundai Motor has put hydrogen fuel cell heavy trucks into operation.

It is precisely because of the leading technology and deep accumulation that Hyundai Motor no longer meets the need to produce fuel cell vehicles limited to travel, but tries to provide a complete intelligent mobile travel solution, which has become the third feature of Hyundai Motor’s development of hydrogen energy.

In the field of transportation, modern automobile hydrogen energy automobile products have achieved "heaven and earth". In the field of automobile, apart from ordinary consumers’ travel, Hyundai Motor brings the solution of hydrogen unmanned transport vehicle in the fields of port transportation and logistics.

In the air field, in May 2022, Hyundai Motor announced the multi-rotor UAV "Project N" based on the development of hydrogen fuel cell system for research and development.

In terms of infrastructure, Hyundai Motor previewed the modern automobile hydrogen fuel cell power generation system as early as 2019, which can be used as a charging infrastructure to charge two electric racing cars at the same time; On September 7, 2021, Hyundai Motor Group’s hydrogen day conference showed mobile hydrogen refueling station facilities and emergency rescue vehicles.

In addition, in 2017, Hyundai Motor released the design scheme of a new generation of fuel cell vehicles, and started to operate the hydrogen energy project "Hydrogen Energy Residence" located in Yeouido, Hanjiang Park, South Korea, and further expanded the use scenario to residential buildings to promote the construction of a "hydrogen energy society".

According to the plan, Hyundai Motor will take the lead in becoming the first automobile manufacturer in the world to equip all its commercial vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell systems in 2028. By 2030, it will aim to achieve the price of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles equivalent to that of pure electric vehicles, ensuring competitiveness in the price field.

Hyundai Motor Group proposes to popularize hydrogen energy in transportation and various fields by introducing new technologies by 2040, and to help build a global "hydrogen energy society" by 2040.

China market is indispensable.

Help "double carbon" reach the standard

According to the Plan, from the domestic perspective, China is the largest hydrogen producer in the world, with an annual hydrogen production of about 33 million tons, of which about 12 million tons meet the quality standards of industrial hydrogen, which has great potential in the supply of clean and low-carbon hydrogen energy.

Hydrogen energy is also strong in the automobile industry. Relevant statistics show that in 2023, China surpassed South Korea and the United States with 5,805 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, becoming the largest single market for hydrogen vehicles in the world.

Strong demand, huge potential and the supporting role of "double carbon" make the prospect of hydrogen energy promising. However, how to accelerate the application demand of hydrogen in various fields, how to ensure the terminal use of hydrogen in infrastructure and accelerate the large-scale deployment of hydrogen to make it cost-competitive have become three major challenges for the commercialization of large-scale hydrogen energy industry.

With a complete set of hydrogen energy solutions, Hyundai Motor began to lay out the China market.

Actions are earlier than words. On the one hand, Hyundai Motor shows its technical strength and heritage through the introduction of automobile products, and seizes the automobile market.

In 2018, NEXO was brought to China Electric Vehicle committee of 100 Forum for display. In order to be closer to the consumption in China market and comply with the use regulations of China, Hyundai Motor brought the NEXO China version in November 2021, and obtained the license of Beijing New Energy Vehicle in April 2022, and gradually started the commercial trial operation.

It is reported that the new car has a maximum power of 161 horsepower (120kW) and a maximum torque of 395Nm. Under the condition of full hydrogen, the cruising range of CLTC-P is 550 kilometers, which can meet the needs of users for daily travel and self-driving travel, and at the same time it can be filled with the required hydrogen in 5 minutes.

On the other hand, the strategic layout is to establish the "HTWO Guangzhou" base. In December 2019, Hyundai Motor signed a memorandum of understanding with the Guangdong provincial government, and conducted site selection, market research and other processes to enter the hydrogen fuel cell market in China, and negotiated the detailed plan for establishing the factory. This is the background of the "HTWO Guangzhou" base.

(Photo courtesy of the manufacturer, issued by Yangguang. com)

In January 2021, Hyundai Motor established Hyundai Motor Hydrogen Fuel Cell System (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., and announced the establishment of the first "HTWO Guangzhou" base established by Hyundai Motor Group in the world, which integrates R&D, production and sales of overseas hydrogen fuel cells.

Subsequently, on March 2nd, "HTWO Guangzhou" started construction and was completed on June 1st, 2023. The new base includes a hydrogen fuel cell system production plant, a research and development center and an innovation center, which keeps a leading position in scale and advanced technology introduction.

The base covers an area of over 200,000 square meters, and it is planned to produce 6,500 sets of hydrogen fuel cell systems annually. It is reported that this battery system has won the title of "Ward’s Top Ten Engines" and has the characteristics of modularization, simplification and light weight. The rated power of the system is 90kW, the storage temperature is-35-75 C, the working environment temperature is-30-45 C, and the power generation efficiency can reach over 64%.

According to the modern automobile plan, it will continue to actively participate in the demonstration operation of fuel cell vehicles mainly commercial vehicles in various ways, and will also provide the world-leading hydrogen fuel cell system for hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars in China, as well as ships, rail transit, power generation and other fields.

Based on this, Hyundai Motor has brought more scenarios of hydrogen energy solutions to the industry, such as strengthening cooperation with Guangzhou Hengyun Group and Guangzhou Wen Yuan Zhixing Technology Co., Ltd., accelerating the creation of the world’s first unmanned hydrogen energy vehicle demonstration zone, creating demand in the fields of engineering vehicles such as hydrogen fuel cell unmanned sanitation vehicles and network car, and cooperating to promote vehicle development, manufacturing, demonstration, promotion and operation;

For example, we will promote cooperation with Guangzhou Hengyun Group and Guangzhou Development Zone Transportation Investment Group, and carry out services such as providing hydrogen fuel cell car rental services to vehicle operating companies and terminal vehicle companies for the ecology of hydrogen energy industry, innovating supply chain breeding models and operating fields.

At present, the development of hydrogen energy is still in the stage of scene application exploration and industrial commercial promotion. Hyundai Motor has cooperated with the government and enterprises in China to provide different solutions for multi-scene and full-trip, so that the development of hydrogen energy can enter a deeper stage of industrial practice, and the Chinese plan is given, which plays a supporting role for the "double carbon" standard.