“Our issue is that all customer feedback says range and boot space are the priorities, but of course a larger fuel tank impinges on boot space,” he said, adding that Hyundai was looking to the aerospace industry for further technology learnings. The ix35 FCV is priced at £53,105, while the Mirai costs £66,000. However, most customers are leasing the cars for business fleets, allowing the cost to be covered in instalments and offset. Q&A with Sae-Hoon Kim, head of fuel cell research Why will hydrogen prevail? “Every solution leads to hydrogen; either you use renewable energy sources to create and store hydrogen, or you use traditional fuels like coal to create hydrogen. Either way, hydrogen is the way to store energy and control supply and demand. Isn’t hydrogen dangerous? “Something that isn’t explosive doesn’t produce energy; all fuel is dangerous. But the hydrogen tanks are subjected to extreme safety tests and pass them.” How quickly will fuel cell car technology progress? “Very fast. In the past 60 years performance has improved 200 times. That rate is increasing. Battery and fuel cell will co-exist, but fuel cell is the best powertrain for larger vehicles.”
According to a recent report from Autocar, Hyundai is planning a dedicated fuel-cell SUV to compete with the Toyota Mirai and the forthcoming 2017 Honda Clarity. While Sae-Hoon Kim, head of fuel-cell research for Hyundai and sister brand Kia stated that “We will launch a dedicated vehicle” he did not confirm that it would be an SUV. The new vehicle could also have some competition in its own right. (probably translating to around 400 miles on the more stringent US EPA testing cycle), which is significantly more than the EPA-rated 312-mile range of the Mirai and the 265 miles quoted for the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell.