Hyundai Tucson Fuel-Cell Ready for Road Test

South Korean manufacturer Hyundai announced the start of a trial program for a Tucson ix FCEV model fitted with a hydrogen fuel-cell drivetrain.

Hyundai’s third-generation FCEV is equipped with a 100-kilowatt fuel cell system and two hydrogen storage tanks (700bar). The Tucson Fuel-Cell can travel 650 km (404 miles) on a single charge – a range equal to a gasoline-powered car. By comparison, the old ix35 FCEV only managed 370 km (230 miles). The new model gets gasoline equivalent fuel efficiency of 31 kilometers per liter, a 15-percent improvement over the previous version.

Hyundai says the Tucson ix FCEV can operate at temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius.

More than 95 percent of the Tucson ix FCEV’s major components were made with Korean technology through close collaboration with about 120 domestic auto parts manufacturers. Overall volume of the fuel cell system was downsized by 20-percent compared to the previous system via modularization of bulky parts in the fuel cell system including fuel cell stack, balance of plant(BOP), inverter and high voltage junction box.

Hyundai took part in the `Learning Demonstration Program’ organized by the U.S. Department of Energy between 2004 and 2009. Next year, 48 Tucson ix FCEV’s will be part of a `Domestic Fleet Program’ supported by the Korean government. Hyundai’s hydrogen vehicles have so far registered more than 2 million kilometers.

South Korean manufacturer plans to make a limited supply of the Tucson ix FCEV in 2012 and begin mass production in 2015.