Danes warm to cool Hyundai fuel cell

Hyundai is doing its bit to maintain Denmark’s record for clean air and environmental activism by leasing 15 zero-emissions hydrogen-powered ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles to the Municipality of Copenhagen.

The agreement is a ‘first’ for Hyundai, which has previously had two test cars log 45,000km on Danish roads.

Denmark is one of the world’s leading countries in the use of renewable energy and has a well-developed and established hydrogen infrastructure.

The Danish capital has a goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2025.

Hyundai operates a dedicated fuel-cell research division at its Eco Technology Research Institute in South Korea and has been researching and developing hydrogen fuel cell technology since 1998.

The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell is powered by hydrogen, utilising a fuel-cell stack that converts the hydrogen into electricity to turn the car’s electric motor.

Hyundai claims the car has all the drivability and durability of a conventional car, but delivers true zero-emissions motoring in which the only output is water.

The ix35 Fuel Cell requires only a few minutes to fill, has a top speed of 160km/h, and a range nearly equal to its petrol-powered sibling.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo has made the fuel cell program a top priority for the company, which is targeting commercialisation by the end of 2012, and consumer sales by 2015.

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