Hyundai's zero-emission hydrogen commitment honoured with 2016 Drive Green Innovation Award.

Hyundai has won important recognition for pioneering hydrogen-fuelled cars in Australia.

In awarding Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) its coveted 2016 Drive Car of the Year: Green Innovation award, leading national newspaper motoring lift-out Drive and its Drive.com.au website praised Hyundai for its “investment and education” in hydrogen as a viable and sustainable alternative fuel source.

Hyundai has committed to making zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell cars part of its long-term plans in Australia.

Hyundai brought its advanced ix35 Fuel Cell to Australia in 2014 and subjected the SUV to evaluation by its local vehicle assessment teams. Soon afterwards Hyundai opened Australia’s first light-vehicle hydrogen refuelling station, at its Macquarie Park company headquarters. 

The highly advanced Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell runs on hydrogen, burns no fossil fuels, and emits nothing but water vapour from its exhaust. Range and refuelling time are similar to those of a normal petrol-powered car.

Commending Hyundai for its hydrogen-fuel pioneering work in Australia, Drive said: "its worthy objective is to eventually secure an infinite and efficient resource for powering cars producing zero exhaust emissions."
Drive’s 2016 Green Innovation Award also praised HMCA’s work lobbying government and potential industry partners towards further encouraging the growth of emissions-free Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) and hydrogen fuel infrastructure in Australia. 

As a major first step in that infrastructure process, the ACT Government recently secured an order for Australia’s first FCEV fleet - 20 next generation Hyundai advanced FCEVs, due in 2018.

Hyundai aims to establish a California and European-style ‘Hydrogen Highway’ of Hydrogen refuelling stations in Australia. The proposed ‘Hume by Hydrogen’ route links Sydney, Goulburn, Canberra, Albury and Melbourne.

"Drive's Green Innovation Award is hugely significant for Hyundai and for hydrogen fuel-cell technology in Australia", said Scott Narger, HMCA Manager, Corporate Communications, Government Affairs and Environment. 

This award recognises Hyundai’s bold commitment to future motoring in Australia, and how seriously we take our environmental responsibility."

"I'm proud to say we’ve shown with the ix35 Fuel Cell that zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can be as easy to drive, and as reliable, as petrol- and diesel-powered cars. Thanks to Hyundai’s commitment to this technology I can guarantee that our next-generation FCEV will be even more of an eye-opener."
 

Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell

The ix35 Fuel Cell is one of the most advanced cars in the world, running on hydrogen and emitting nothing but water vapour from its exhaust pipe.

Hydrogen from the vehicle’s fuel tank is mixed with air and converted to electricity by a PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane, or Polymer Electrolyte Membrane) Fuel Cell stack – the electricity generated then powers the ix35 Fuel Cell’s electric motor.

The vehicle is near-silent, highly efficient and emissions-free. It is also very safe, having passed the stringent American NHTSA crash test. It is as practical and useful as a standard petrol or diesel-powered car, or SUV, with near-identical interior space and comparable range and performance.

The ix35 Fuel Cell develops 100kW maximum power and 300Nm maximum torque, 0-100km/h acceleration is 12.5sec, top speed is 160km/h and official maximum range is 594km. (Although a Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell set a record for the longest journey completed by a vehicle on a single tank of hydrogen, driving 700km through Norway, Sweden and Denmark.)

Private customers are leasing ix35 Fuel Cells in Los Angeles as part of an advanced hydrogen scheme, and many more ix35 Fuel Cells are operational throughout Europe.

In Australia, the ACT Government has secured a contract for 20 next-generation Hyundai FCEVs, due in 2018.