Hyundai and H2E enter MOU
- September 20, 2018
- Posted by: Simon Wait
- Category: Industry News
Hyundai Motor Company affirmed at the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018 in Hanover that it has entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Swiss hydrogen company H2 Energy (H2E).
Beginning in 2019 and over a five year period Hyundai Motor and H2 Energy will provide 1,000 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks and an adequate supply chain for renewable hydrogen.
The MOU signing ceremony took place in the IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018 exhibition’s convention centre and was attended by key individuals from each company, including Hyundai Motor’s executive vice president and head of commercial vehicle division, In Cheol Lee, as well as chairman of H2E, Rolf Huber.
‘We are yet again advancing the field of fuel cell technology in the automotive industry with today’s announcement of our ambition to commercialize the fuel cell electric truck for the first time in the world,’ said In Cheol Lee. ‘We will continue to seek opportunities for expanding into other markets by carefully monitoring multiple factors such as fuelling infrastructure and governmental policies.’
H2 Energy plans to make Hyundai’s fuel cell electric trucks available to its Swiss customers starting with the members of the Swiss H2 Association, which includes several refueling-station operators, retailers and other customers focusing on eco-friendly innovative solutions for logistics and goods distribution.
‘A sustainable hydrogen economy needs a designated ecosystem for hydrogen. This is why our collaboration between Hyundai Motor, H2 Energy, the Swiss H2 Association, and key electricity producers in Switzerland is strategic and makes a lot of sense,’ said Rolf.
Fuel cell electric powertrain technology has advantages over battery electric powertrain technology in its applications to larger vehicles such as trucks and buses. Fuel cell technology saves space and reduces weight as well as being more cost efficient to apply as the vehicle size increases. Therefore, the technology is deemed to have a wide array of opportunities to be utilized in the commercial vehicle field.
