Hyundai Motor will work with the Department of Energy (DOE), a federal ministry in charge of energy-related policies and future energy research and development in the U.S., to innovate hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell technologies and expand the global base.
Hyundai Motor announced on Feb. 11 that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was concluded between Sunita Satyapal, director of the U.S. Department of Energy, and Kim Se-hoon, executive director of Hyundai Motor's fuel cell business, at the Energy Department building in Washington D.C. on Feb. 10.
The key is to share empirical analysis data obtained through the operation of hydrogen-electric vehicles and hydrogen charging stations with academia, government agencies and businesses, and expand the competitiveness of hydrogen energy to various industrial sectors and the general public to innovate hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell technologies and enhance global utilization.
Given that Hyundai Motor and the U.S. Department of Energy, which had been running research and development programs for hydrogen and fuel cells since the early 2000s, have joined hands, it is expected that the global hydrogen economy will be implemented more rapidly.
The strengthening of cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, a federal ministry, is significant in that it has created a foundation for hydrogen-powered vehicles distributed around California to expand across the country, a Hyundai official said.
The U.S. Department of Energy has been actively expanding hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cell technologies to the point that it established H2USA and H2FIRST, both public and private cooperation organizations that are pushing for expansion of hydrogen infrastructures such as hydrogen-electric vehicles and hydrogen charging stations, in 2013 so that customers of hydrogen-electric vehicles can enjoy the level of convenience of internal combustion engine customers.
With the federal government's attention, the United States has topped the list with 7,937 hydrogen-powered vehicles in the world by last year.
Under the MOU, Hyundai Motor will provide the U.S. Department of Energy with five hydrogen-powered Nexos for demonstration and support the establishment of a hydrogen charging station in the Washington D.C. area.
