Hyundai outlines future environmental strategy

Hyundai has revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show that its 'Blue Drive' program will reduce the average corporate fleet fuel consumption figure to 6.7L/100km by 2015 -- up to five years ahead of the corresponding deadline mandated by the US federal government.

"Hyundai aims to be the most fuel-efficient automaker on the planet," said John Krafcik, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer for Hyundai Motor America.

"We're aligning our global R&D resources in Michigan, California, Nam Yang, and Frankfurt to develop the Blue Drive technologies we need to achieve our goal -- a 6.7 litres / 100 km U.S. fleet average by 2015."

'Blue Drive' describes Hyundai's global environmental strategy, which revolves around alternative fuel and power sources for motor vehicles.

The LA announcement was US-centric, but has some relevance to other global markets, particularly with the recent revelation that Hyundai would bring a hybrid-drive model to Australia in 2010 (more here).

Americans will see their first hybrid-drive vehicle from Hyundai when the company introduces the next generation Sonata, also in 2010. Hyundai plans for this car to employ lithium polymer battery technology, which the company claims will outstrip lithium-ion technology and current nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) technology.

When the hybrid Sonata arrives, it will run in electric-only mode, petrol-only mode or a combination of both powerplants. The 2.4-litre 'Theta II' engine will drive through a six-speed automatic transmission, coupled to a 30kW electric motor.

For the upgraded petrol engine, Hyundai is developing low-friction components and an auto-stop/start system that runs through the engine management software. An Integrated Starter Generator (ISG) restarts the car as soon as pressure is applied to the accelerator pedal. The hybrid Sonata will also feature regenerative braking and an electric compressor for the air conditioning system. Hyundai plans to rework the transmission by fitting an electric oil pump and adopting higher ratios for the top three gears, reducing engine revs in those gears for a set road speed.

A key element of the hybrid Sonata will be its lithium polymer battery technology, which Hyundai claims will provide packaging, weight and energy density benefits over the Ni-MH batteries currently in use powering contemporary hybrid-drive vehicles. According to the car maker, they hold their charge longer than Ni-MH, weigh up to 30 per cent less and consume 50 per cent less space in a car.

Up against the more modern lithium-ion batteries, lithium polymer technology is more cost-effective to produce, offers higher energy density, is more durable, is safer and can cope with more charge/discharge cycles. Batteries for the hybrid Sonata are under development at LG Chem, Hyundai's business partner for this project. After hundreds of hours testing, Hyundai and the battery supplier anticipate that production batteries will last at least 10 years or 240,000km in all climates. The new batteries run cooler than either Ni-MH or lithium-ion batteries.

Hyundai is not merely satisfied with development of a hybrid-drive system though. The company is one of 33 members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership and is currently working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicle technology which falls within the scope of the Blue Drive program also. A fuel cell electric vehicle ('FCEV') based on the Tucson SUV recently completed a 13-day journey across America. This was the latest achievement resulting from Hyundai's work on fuel cells to date -- work that began in 2004 with a five-year project sponsored by the United States Department of Energy.

Hyundai anticipates offering the motoring public a production Blue Drive FCEV from around 2012.

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