Hydrogen collaboration: Toyota and Hyundai to work together on infrastructure and vehicle R&D
Toyota’s Chairman, Akio Toyoda is heading to Seoul, South Korea to meet with Hyundai and explore collaboration opportunities on the future of hydrogen.
The proposed meeting at Hyundai’s head office in Seoul, Korea is pencilled in for late October this year.
It will be the first time that the Toyota Chairman has visited Hyundai’s factory since early 2002 when he was invited by Hyundai’s Chairman, Chung Eui-sun.
Discuss options
Both Toyota and Hyundai are some of the leading companies involved in developing hydrogen vehicles, but with challenges due to the current lack of hydrogen infrastructure in certain countries, it is understood that the two organisations will discuss the options for establishing hydrogen infrastructure in key markets, as well as the production of hydrogen vehicles.
The details of the meeting with Hyundai come only a couple of weeks after the announcement that BMW will work with Toyota on the development and production of hydrogen fuel cell engines.
Back in 2015, Toyota opened up their vast catalogue of hydrogen related patents to their competitors without fee, in the hope that it would accelerate the development of hydrogen fueled vehicles.
Although the hydrogen industry hasn’t taken off at a level Toyota originally hoped for private use, there does appear to be more manufacturers exploring hydrogen options due to clean air policies soon to be imposed by global governments.
Toyota’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Mirai
Toyota launched their first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle in 2014, the Mirai, which was recently the official car of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Japanese manufacturing giant aims to sell over 300,000 hydrogen powered cars by 2030, whilst also exploring options of placing their fuel cell in heavy-duty trucks.
Hyundai’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Nexo
Similarly to Toyota, Hyundai launched their own fuel cell car in 2013, based on the Tucson. The Tucson was one of the first commercially available hydrogen-powered SUV’s and demonstrated Hyundai’s commitment to hydrogen fuel cell technology.
In 2018, Hyundai then launched the Nexo, their second-generation fuel cell SUV, with a range of up to 380 miles (612 km).
It’s understood that Hyundai and Toyota will hold a press conference following their October meeting, which we hope details further commitments to hydrogen developments from the two carmakers.
