The first offshore fuel cell system plant for South Korea’s biggest carmaker Hyundai Motor Group will be established in Guangzhou, China, the automaker said Friday.
The automotive group said it signed an investment contract with China’s Guangdong provincial government to establish an offshore fuel cell system production facility there.
The investment is part of Hyundai’s efforts to advance its leadership in the global hydrogen industry, and to support the industry rapidly growing in China, the company explained.
The envisioned plant will initially produce 6,500 fuel cell systems a year and gradually increase capacity in line with market demand, Hyundai said.
The fuel cell systems that will be produced in the plant are to be the same ones that are used for Hyundai Motor’s Nexo fuel cell electric sport utility vehicles, the company added.
Construction is to begin next month and be completed in the second half of next year, it said.
“The Guangzhou plant will leverage the group’s extensive expertise in fuel cell system production to secure a technological leadership position in China’s rapidly developing hydrogen industry,” Hyundai said in its press release.
China announced a road map last year to foster a hydrogen economy, with the goal to have one million fuel cell electric vehicles for commercial use on its roads by 2035.
As for Hyundai Motor Group, the automaker has its own long-term plan, dubbed “Fuel Cell Vision 2030,” outlining its commitment to produce 700,000 fuel cells annually to meet demand from various industry sectors, the company explained.
Hyundai also recently launched HTWO, its new brand for hydrogen fuel cell systems.
The Hyperion XP-1, touted as the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell supercar, has recently landed in Las Vegas to the delight of onlookers, residents, and motorists alike. However, it came to celebrate the first virtual CES 2021 instead of attempting to break the speed barrier.The last time a supercar went to Vegas (and attempted a speed record run), it drew a ton of controversy. We’re talking about theSSC Tuatara, and it’s claimedtwo-way average runof 316.11 mph (508.73 kph) last October.
Meanwhile, Hyperion is taking it easy with its newestXP-1 supercar. Instead of ringing out every last ounce of power from its hydrogen fuel cells, the car was seen gallantly cruising past the historic Fountains of Bellagio and the Nevada desert.
It’s hard to believe the Hyperion XP-1 started life as an educational tool. The car is wearing some funky camouflage in the video, but we’ve all seen the XP-1 sans its vinyl covering. It has a carbon monocoque frame with titanium-infused body panels to reduce weight. And since it has no battery pack, the XP-1 tips the scales at 2,275 pounds (1,248 kg), which is around 475 pounds less than SSC’s Tuatara.
The XP-1 has carbon-fiber tanks to store hydrogen, and the entire fuel cell supplies power to four electric motors, one for each wheel. Each motor pumps out 500 horsepower for a total output of 2,000 rampaging horses. With that much power, the XP-1 is a scorcher. It accelerates from zero to 60 mph in under 3.0-seconds and has a top speed of 221 mph.
When you run out of juice, the XP-1 is as easy to fill up as a gasoline-powered car, provided there’s a hydrogen refilling station nearby. With a full tank (or full tanks) of hydrogen, the XP-1 achieves 1,016 miles (1,635 kilometers) of driving range. Theoretically, the XP-1 can probably go longer than that with its array of solar panels on the sweeping C-section behind the doors.
The Hyperion XP-1 is slated to go on sale in late 2022, with the first customer deliveries arriving in early 2023. The company is only making 300 examples of the XP-1 at a still undetermined base price.
Last summer, a Southern California-based company called Hyperion debuteda wild hydrogen-powered hypercar called the XP-1. The company referred to the XP-1 concept as an "educational tool," but there's more to it than that, it would seem, because it took the XP-1 for a spin on the streets of Las Vegas, according to a reportpublished Friday by Motor1.
Now, in case you forgot, the Hyperion XP-1 is a hydrogen fuel cell-powered car that claims a 1,000-mile range per tank of hydrogen, 1,500 horsepower, a 0-60 time of around 2.2 seconds and a top speed of 221 mph. Rather interestingly, Hyperion claims there are no batteries on-board to store energy (as we see in theToyota MiraiandHyundai Nexo, for example), which reduces weight.Despite the lack of a physicalCESshow this year, Hyperion decided to go to Vegas anyway, and it drove the XP-1 up and down the Strip, as well as out in the desert. We don't have a great deal of detail on exactly how fast it went or what the company was doing in the desert, but it's interesting to see the car covered in camouflage, considering that it's already been seen without it.
Hyperion plans to offer the XP-1 for sale to the public starting in 2022, but with the bulk of the planned 300-vehicle production run slated for 2023.
Hyperion didn't immediately respond to Roadshow's request for comment.
January 13 (Renewables Now) - French automotive group Renault and US-based Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) will partner in the development and sale of hydrogen fuel cell-powered light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in Europe, targeting pilot fleet deployments in 2021.
The companies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to set up a 50/50 joint venture (JV) by the end of June, fuel cell systems maker Plug Power said on Tuesday. The JV will aim to seize an over 30% share of the European fuel cell-powered LCV market in Europe.
The France-based entity will set up an innovation centre to conduct research and development (R&D) and will have a manufacturing centre in France, which will also provide hydrogen refueling systems.
Research will be conducted based on Groupe Renault’s existing and future platforms and will initially target the heavy van segment.
“With Plug Power, we will build a unique end-to-end fuel cell value chain and offer turnkey solutions for customers including vehicles, refueling stations and decarbonized hydrogen delivery,” said Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault.
French automaker Groupe Renault and U.S.-based Plug PowerPLUG+5.3%today announced a memorandum of understanding to create a stand alone joint venture that will develop, build and market electric fuel cell light commercial vehicles (LCVs).
The move is new evidence of growing momentum for a technology automakers once hoped would replace batteries as the power source for electric vehicles, only to fall out of favor due to concern over a lack of refueling infrastructure and safety surrounding the use of flammable hydrogen.
ButPlug Power,headquartered in Latham, N.Y., outside Albany, has emerged as the leader in developing fuel cell systems, having deployed more than 40,000 such systems, and has built 110 hydrogen refueling stations.
Fuel cell-powered Renault Master Z.E.light commercial vehicle. Renault and Latham, N.Y.-based PlugPower have formed a joint venture to produce and market fuel cell versions of the Master and Trafic for sale in Europe.
ANTHONY BERNIER
That’s a big reason Renault decided to join forces with Plug Power as it looks to create fuel cell powered light commercial vehicles for business-to-business customers in Europe based on its Master and Trafic truck platforms.
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The other reason, said Renault’s executive vice president of engineering, is that while the goal is to meet strict European emission standards with electric vehicles, batteries simply aren’t up to the task for vehicles Gilles Le Borgne calls “kind of big animals” carrying payloads of more than four tons with 20 cubic meter volumes.
Gilles Le Borgne, Renault Executive Vice President, Engineering
“For those light commercial vehicles you really don’t have a solution with BEV because you would need a lot of battery on board, a lot of energy, more than 100 or 120 kilowatt hours and that doesn’t make any sense in terms of cost or in terms of weight,” said Le Borgne in an interview.
Indeed, while sentiment has grown fairly cold for using fuel cells in passenger vehicles, Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh says the technology is a perfect fit when it’s not feasible to wait around for a battery to recharge, which is why the B2B market is embracing it.
“Really folks have been realizing in very intense applications where you want your asset always working, fast charging, fuel cells can fill up in 5-6 minutes, can get twice the range and you also have greater density for packaging,” said Marsh in an interview.
Andy Marsh, CEO, Plug Power
PLUG POWER
The companies said the joint venture is expected to launch at the end of the first half of this year and will create an Innovation Center in France. The target is to capture more than 30% of the fuel cell-powered European light commercial vehicle market.
Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault
AUGUSTIN DETIENNE
“This joint-venture project is fully aligned with our strategy to offer market ready H2 solution for LCVs,” said Renault CEO Luco de Meo in a release. “With Plug Power, we will build a unique end-to-end fuel cell value chain and offer turnkey solutions for customers including vehicles, refueling stations and decarbonized hydrogen delivery.”
Specifically, the JV will:
Establish a “vertically integrated” fuel cell stack and system manufacturing center in France that will also provide hydrogen refueling stations.
Create a hydrogen vehicle “eco-solution company” offering to customers vehicles, hydrogen and hydrogen fueling stations.
Commercialize fuel cell LCVs in Europe later this year with a pilot fleet
“It will be a full holistic service we offer our customer,” said Le Borgne.
Renault Trafic, light commercial vehicle.
JEAN-BRICE LEMAL
For Plug Power, the deal with Renault comes less than a week afterannouncinga $1.5 billion investment in the company by SK Group, a South Korean business group. In the Jan. 6 announcement, the companies said they are forming a “strategic partnership to accelerate hydrogen as an alternative energy source” in Asian markets and are forming a joint venture by 2022 to support those markets.
SK is making its investment in Plug Power through the purchase of about 51.4 million shares of common stock.
Terms of the deal with Groupe Renault are not being disclosed at this time, according to a spokesman. Santander Corporate & Investment Banking acted as the sole financial advisor to Plug Power.
It all amounts to new energy for fuel cells—not as competitor to batteries, but as an additional and necessary source of electric power more suitable for certain applications says Plug Power’s Andy Marsh, because “when I look at the world, the world is going electric.”
