Hyundai Set To Bring New Hydrogen Car To U.S. In Early 2014

Hyundai is betting heavily on the world’s lightest gas – with sales of its new hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle set to begin in the U.S. early next year.

Fuel cells produce nothing but water vapor in their exhaust and are one of only a handful of ways to meet the stringent zero-emission vehicle, or ZEV, requirements set for California and other parts of the world. But hydrogen power has its own drawbacks, including the lack of a refueling infrastructure that experts warn could take years – and cost billions of dollars – to overcome.

Hydrogen fuel cells have been around since the mid-1900s, though they were little more than a scientific curiosity until the Apollo space program, when they were tapped to provide power on the moon mission capsules. Fuel cells gained proponents within the auto industry during the 1990s, only to see the spotlight shift to battery power in the new millennium. But now, as the range and cost limits of lithium-ion technology becomes increasingly apparent, fuel cells have again gained a following.

Toyota has promised to put a fuel cell vehicle into limited production by 2015, with Honda following up soon after with a replacement for its earlier FC-X Clarity model. General Motors and others could begin production of their own hydrogen cars later in the decade. Hyundai, however, plans to beat them all to market. It is already providing a limited test fleet to government buyers in Denmark and other parts of Europe. And the Korean carmaker will expand the program when the first of its fuel-cell models reached U.S. showrooms in early 2014.

Even so, volumes will be relatively modest compared to the traditional Hyundai product line, with total worldwide sales likely to reach perhaps 1,000 over the next three years. Several factors will limit demand, including price. The hydrogen model is currently being sold in Europe for about $150,000. By the time it reaches the U.S., the goal is to trim that to somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 though the final figure has yet to be set.

That price tag reflects not only the low volume of production but the complex nature of hydrogen-based technology, a fuel cell "stack," among other things, requiring the use of significant amounts of rare metals like platinum. These materials act as catalysts, helping combine lightweight hydrogen with oxygen from the air which, in turn, produces a flow of current that can drive the same motors used in an electric vehicle.

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