Hyundai debuts new hydrogen car in bet on clean fuel’s future

During an investor day in August, Hyundai pledged to invest some $4 billion over the next decade to build a future around hydrogen to meet its net zero target by 2045

Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled a new hydrogen-powered vehicle called Initium, which it aims to release in the first half of next year as part of its broader push into the clean-burning gas.

The vehicle, unveiled Thursday, has a target driving range of over 650 kilometers (404 miles) on a single refueling, compared with 609 kilometers for the Nexo, the South Korean carmaker’s first hydrogen-based SUV, according to a statement. The vehicle can also be connected to a household’s electricity supply to act as a backup source of power, the company said.

While hydrogen cars have failed to gain traction — the production of the gas using renewable energy sources isn’t yet commercially viable on a large scale and it is difficult to transport, store, and dispense — Hyundai is pushing heavily into the carbon-free alternative fuel.

During an investor day in August, Hyundai pledged to invest some $4 billion over the next decade to build a future around hydrogen to meet its net zero target by 2045, and become carbon neutral across all stages of production and operation.

Ever since the release of the Nexo in 2018, Hyundai has remained a big proponent of hydrogen while global automakers more broadly have focused on battery-powered electric vehicles.

Some of hydrogen’s advantages are that it allows for faster refueling and a longer range. But most research suggests battery EVs are the quickest, cheapest way to slash emissions in passenger cars, whereas hydrogen may be better suited for heavy-duty commercial vehicle use.

Hyundai does see hydrogen playing a key role in the commercial vehicle sector considering its higher storage density offers an advantage both in weight and range versus battery-powered vehicles, Jim Park, head of commercial vehicles and hydrogen business development for North America, said in a Bloomberg interview earlier this month.

From January through September, hydrogen car sales accounted for less than 0.5% of Hyundai’s total domestic deliveries, or around 2,400 units, according to data from the carmaker. That compares to 30,942 battery-powered EVs Hyundai sold locally during the same period. Both hydrogen and battery-powered car sales dropped about 37% each from the same period last year.