Hyundai is going all in on the most abundant element in the universe in the quest to reduce planet-heating emissions. The South Korean automaker announced that hydrogen will \u201cplay a prominent role\u201d in the company\u2019s efforts to go carbon neutral by 2050. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cClean hydrogen should be for everyone, powering everything, and available everywhere,\u201d Jay Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As the auto industry shifts to electric vehicles, a small but growing cohort of companies is also embracing hydrogen fuel cell technology as part of their plans to eliminate tailpipe emissions. Honda<\/a>, Toyota<\/a>, GM<\/a>, and Hyundai have all detailed plans to manufacture fuel cell vehicles, both for individual and commercial uses. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hyundai isn\u2019t new to hydrogen. The company claims to be \u201cat the forefront of the hydrogen momentum,\u201d having mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicles for years. Hyundai says it now has \u201cthe world\u2019s highest market share in hydrogen-powered vehicle sales.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hyundai isn\u2019t new to hydrogen<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hyundai says it will use hydrogen in the passenger cars, trucks, and buses it manufactures, as well as trams, special equipment, vessels, power generators, and advanced air mobility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The company will spearhead this transition through HTWO, the group\u2019s hydrogen fuel cell system brand, first launched in 2020. Through HTWO, Hyundai projects that it will offtake 3 million tons of hydrogen per year by 2035 for logistics, steel production, and power generation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hydrogen fuel cells use compressed hydrogen as their fuel, releasing water vapor as its only emission. One of the biggest challenges, though, is the dearth of hydrogen charging and refueling infrastructure, especially in North America. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite the technology having been in development for decades, there are only a little more than 50 fueling stations in California,\u00a0mostly clustered<\/a>\u00a0around Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The East Coast is trying to get in on the action, with a\u00a0handful of stations<\/a>\u00a0up and running and more in the works in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hyundai projects that it will offtake 3 million tons of hydrogen per year by 2035<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Hydrogen\u2019s energy content by volume is low, which makes storing hydrogen a challenge because it requires high pressures, low temperatures, or chemical processes to be stored compactly. Overcoming this challenge is important for light-duty vehicles because they often have limited size and weight capacity for fuel storage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Hyundai is also laying down stakes for its software development, announcing a \u201cSoftware-Defined Everything\u201d strategy \u201cwhich aims to transform all moving devices, fleets and ecosystems into valuable assets through advanced software and AI.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n