Hyundai to produce hydrogen-fueled cars

Hyundai Motor will become the first auto manufacturer to mass-produce hydrogen-fueled cars. The company will roll out Tucson ix sport utility vehicles powered by hydrogen from its plant in Ulsan, South Korea. It is targeting to sell 1,000 units of this vehicle overseas.
“Global automakers such as GM, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are seeking to start mass production of hydrogen-fueled cars after 2015. We are two years ahead of them,” the company said.
The car will include a fuel cell stack in the 100 kW class and a tank of compressed hydrogen at 700 Bar. It will travel up to 594 km on a single charge, the company claimed.
Hydrogen-fueled automobiles boast only moderate fuel efficiency and are outmatched by models like Toyota’s gasoline hybrid (40 km/l) and Volkswagen’s diesel hybrid (100 km/l).
But Hyundai says its new model will be able to outlast the 100 km range of a typical electric car by five or six times. The company also expects efficiency to improve once production begins. (February 28, 2013)