Hyundai and Ineos tie up for hydrogen economy

Hyundai Motor Company and petchem firm Ineos have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore new opportunities to accelerate the global hydrogen economy. The two companies say they will also work together to explore the use of the Hyundai fuel cell system in the Ineos Grenadier vehicle.

Hyundai and Ineos will jointly investigate opportunities for the production and supply of hydrogen as well as the worldwide deployment of hydrogen applications and technologies. Both companies will initially seek to facilitate public and private sector projects focused on the development of a hydrogen value chain in Europe.

The agreement also includes the evaluation of Hyundai’s proprietary fuel cell system for the recently announced Ineos Grenadier 4×4 vehicle. This cooperation represents an important step in Ineos’s efforts to diversify its powertrain options at an early stage.

Hyundai’s proprietary modular fuel cell system, which evaluation vehicles will use, has already proven reliable and effective in the Hyundai Nexo SUV. The world’s first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV has the longest driving range among hydrogen-powered vehicles in the market. Hyundai is one of leading company in the field of fuel cell technology having started the world’s first mass production of fuel cell electric vehicles in 2013.

“Ineos’s move into the development of a fuel cell electric vehicle and hydrogen ecosystem marks yet another milestone towards sustainable and clean transportation,” said Saehoon Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Fuel Cell Center at Hyundai Motor Company. “Hyundai believes this will provide an important low-carbon option across a wide range of sectors. We also hope our decades-long expertise in hydrogen fuel cell work in synergy with Ineos’ expertise in field of chemistry to realise the mass production of green hydrogen and fuel cells for the Grenadier.”

Ineos recently launched a new business to develop and build clean hydrogen capacity across Europe in support of the drive towards a zero-carbon future. The company currently produces 300,000 tonnes/year of hydrogen mainly as a by-product from its chemical manufacturing operations.

Through its subsidiary Inovyn, Ineos is Europe’s largest existing operator of electrolysis, the critical technology that uses renewable energy to produce hydrogen for power generation, transportation and industrial use. Its experience in storage and handling of hydrogen combined with its established know-how in electrolysis technology, puts Ineos in a unique position to drive progress towards a carbon-free future based on hydrogen.

In 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced its mid- to long-term roadmap, Fuel Cell Vision 2030, to increase annual production of hydrogen fuel cell systems to 700,000 units by 2030.