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Hyundai is launching a new hydrogen car, betting on a clean fuel future

Hyundai is launching a new hydrogen car, betting on a clean fuel future

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

The concept vehicle, unveiled on Thursday, has a target range of more than 650 kilometers (404 miles) on a single charge, compared with 609 kilometers for the Nexo, the South Korean automaker’s first hydrogen-powered SUV, according to a statement. The vehicle can also be plugged into a household’s power supply to act as a backup power source, the company said.

As demand growth for electric vehicles slows, CEO Jaehoon Chang told reporters that it is only a matter of time before the auto industry widely adopts electrified powertrains. Hydrogen-powered vehicles “are not the kind that are profitable, but regardless, we are pushing for it, we are approaching it as if it is our mission,” he said at the event at Hyundai’s auto studio in Goyang, north of Seoul .

While hydrogen cars have failed to gain traction—gas production using renewable energy sources is not yet commercially viable on a large scale and is difficult to transport, store and distribute—Hyundai is pushing hard toward the alternative without fuel carbon.

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

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

Some of the advantages of hydrogen are that it allows for faster refueling and longer range. But most research suggests that battery electric vehicles are the fastest and cheapest way to reduce emissions in passenger cars, while hydrogen may be better suited for heavy commercial vehicle use.

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

From January to September, sales of hydrogen cars accounted for less than 0.5 percent of Hyundai’s total domestic deliveries, or about 2,400 units, according to the automaker’s data. This compares to 30,942 Hyundai battery electric vehicles sold locally during the same period. Sales of both hydrogen and battery-powered cars are down about 37% each from the same period last year.