[TusharK]

According to a media report, Hyundai is planning to launch the Hydrogen-powered Nexo in India in 2021. The SUV was showcased alongside the recently launched Kona Electric at the Korea Business Summit held in Delhi in 2018.



The Nexo is a 5-door SUV that comes with semi-autonomous driver assistance features. It has a 95 kW hydrogen fuel cell and a 40 kW battery pack with an output of 161 BHP and 395 Nm of torque. According to Hyundai the Nexo can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 9.2 seconds and has a claimed top speed of 179 km/h. The car is said to have an estimated range of 800 km (New European Driving Cycle).

The Government of India, in a bid to promote alternate fuels, has slashed the GST rate on hydrogen-powered vehicles from 28% to 12%. The move could pave the way for cars like the Nexo. However, just like electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered cars would require setting up of hydrogen filling stations.

Source: Moneycontrol

Link to Team-BHP News

[i74js]

Are we prepared for multiple disruptions in transportation sector. Though its too early in the day but EVs seems to be choice of technology on which multiple manufacturers are focusing and thus the infrastructure is expected to gain traction sooner or later.

Fuel cells on the other hand are not been focus of majority of auto players barring Toyota (and with them too - no firm plans on introduction of vehicles). Infrastructure for such niche operations may not be financially viable in the near future.

Is Hyundai planning to use India as test bed?

[NaXal]

Finally some good news to look at.

Hydrogen based cars make perfect sense for Indian conditions where majority of car owners don't have dedicated parking & plug in charging solutions or present battery technology isn't up to mark for quick top ups.

Logically, I feel it makes more sense to invest in using present refueling infrastructure for Hydrogen cars rather investing heavily on charging station. That too with present charging speed would create huge waiting lines.

Last of all, EV conversation isn't just for the sake of it. Rather to reduce carbon foot print & in India, overwhelming percentage of the electric grid is on coal so overall there won't be much relief.

Yes I know the issue of hydrogen production & transportation is still there but new innovations are coming up every day to address those factors.

[GTO]

IMHO, this was just a technological showcase by Hyundai (with no plans to bring it here).

Originally Posted by NaXal

Logically, I feel it makes more sense to invest in using present refueling infrastructure for Hydrogen cars rather investing heavily on charging station. That too with present charging speed would create huge waiting lines.

You make a valid point and it'll be interesting to see which way India swings - EVs or Hydrogen - in the long term. I personally think it'll be EVs simply because of their rapid pace of development, and the commitment shown by all manufacturers to electric power. Hydrogen is now getting step-motherly treatment by all of them.

Here are two amazing reports for those interested in the subject:

Hydrogen Supply Chain (Building a Hydrogen Supply Chain using Renewable Energy)

Hydrogen fuel-cell car (Japan Report: Toyota Mirai Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car, and Toyota's Safety Technology)

[padmrajravi]

One benefit of going the EV way is that you basically have established a channel of energy transmission- Which is the electric lines and chargers.

Hydrogen fuel cells may be the answer for all future energy requirements , but I am not sure if it is better to generate power at every point that is being used. Power could be generated at a central place and and transmitted via electric lines. Power generation is very capital intensive and is best handled by government. When alternate power generations methods come into picture , government with their deep pockets can change their infrastructure rather than asking millions of people to change it.

I prefer EVs to Fuel cells. Future power generation could be solar or fuel cell or nuclear or anything that gets invented.But designing cars to work with all those power generation techniques is going to be a wastage of resources.

[octane_100]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

Future power generation could be solar or fuel cell or nuclear or anything that gets invented.But designing cars to work with all those power generation techniques is going to be a wastage of resources.

Excellent point. Power generation has scale economies associated with it and hence will attract more R&D and investments. Also, it will be easier and safer to implement any new technology under a controlled condition like a power plant instead of exposing common users to the same.

[racer_ash]

I think with all these new technologies, it is always a case of Chicken and Egg. Some may argue that we need the supporting infrastructure first before cars are released with the new technology.

Others have a view that we need sufficient new car releases with a new technology and the supporting infrastructure will follow through on its own.

Kind of like the 5G technology. Do we buy a 5G compatible handset first or do we wait for 5G infrastructure to have sufficient penetration to buy a 5G handset.

Coming back to the topic, I feel this effort by Hyundai is a step in the right direction. They already have an EV in their Indian portfolio. If they do go through with the plan to launch a H2 powered vehicle, it will help them gauge the response across both these emerging technologies effectively giving them the first-mover advantage in both areas. Much like how Maruti had an advantage in the 80s with the 800.

Interesting times ahead. And I expect a lot of turbulence in the Indian automobile space.

[Holyghost]

There are 2 things that needs to be achieved before hydrogen vehicles can hit mass market. Economical Production of hydrogen, Transport and Storage of Hydrogen.

The current techniques of mass producing hydrogen is very inefficient and either requires a lot of electricity or requires natural gas. The interesting point to note here is: We have vehicles that run on electricity and we have vehicles that run on natural gas. So what is the point of generating hydrogen from both these sources in an inefficient way and then using that Hydrogen to run a new type of vehicle? R&D is on for a cheaper manufacturing process but no breakthrough has been achieved in the last decade. If that breakthrough doesn't happen before we get batteries with 700-1000KM range, Hydrogen doesn't stand a chance.

Transport of hydrogen is the next challenge. Moving hydrogen requires it to be cooled to cryogenic temperatures to liquify it and then transported in specialized containers. Liquifying process consumes tremendous amounts of energy and we need energy to transport the hydrogen to fuel stations. When it comes to EVs, we already have a grid through which the electricity can be transported to the end users without any additional infrastructure. Similarly, we already have the required transport infrastructure for petrol and diesels which doesn't require any specialized transport containers. So it is difficult to make a move to Hydrogen over the currents fuels or EVs.

Similarly, storage of Hydrogen in liquid form requires very expensive storage systems and the current fuel stations will have to go through those expensive upgrades for storing and dispensing hydrogen. It is much easier and less expensive to setup electric chargers.
There is no visible benefit for switching to Hydrogen from current fuels or more importantly choosing Hydrogen over EV.

[sgiitk]

I doubt, There is no hint anywhere about H powered vehicles. I do not expect a hydrogen infrastructure to be developed in parallel. Also, there are also safety issue with H given our 'chalta hai' mindset. As of now i think it is a non-starter.

[Senna4Ever]

Originally Posted by GTO

IMHO, this was just a technological showcase by Hyundai (with no plans to bring it here).

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I doubt, There is no hint anywhere about H powered vehicles. ... As of now i think it is a non-starter.

One of those times when its good to be wrong! Hyundai has now got the necessary registration/homologation approvals for the NEXO in India.

NEXO could very well be the first FCEV (Fuel Cell EV) to be offered in India.



Would be interesting to see how Hyundai plans to support customers if they do end up selling it here, which now is very likely!

[Bhupi_BHP]

While other manufacturers are busy bringing new technologies to India, the market leader seems to still be in a cave. Forget hydrogen, they still don't have an electric car ready to be rolled out when the other manufacturers are already selling some reasonable options. Let's see when do they wake up and do something meaningful. Until then, keep pondering over 'calculate kiya kya' ��

[Leem]

Many advancements in battery technology is yet to trickle down to mass production from research labs. A simple patent search will reveal the quantum of R&D associated in this field.
I think we are witnessing the next decade wave of changes in powertrain technology advancements.

cheers to science and research

[volkman10]

Hyundai Nexo Gets Type Approval In India.

However, the lack of hydrogen filling stations in India would be the biggest challenge for Hyundai, and until a proper network can be set up for it, FCEVs vehicles won’t really be a practical alternative to battery-powered EVs.

Link

[Venkatesh]

Hyundai Nexo travels 551.4 Miles on a single tank of Hydrogen, sets new World Record

Local rally driver Brendan Reeves drove the production-spec Nexo from Essendon Fields in Melbourne to just beyond the small country town of Broken Hill. According to the Nexo’s trip computer, the trip totaled 887.5 km (551.4 miles), beating the previous world record of 778 km (483.4 miles) set by French aeronaut Bertrand Piccard in 2019.

Hyundai’s hydrogen-powered crossover has an official range of 666 km (413.8 miles) on the WLTP cycle. A GPS unit in the Nexo showed the journey lasted 903.4 km (561.3 miles), while Google Maps showed the Reeves had traveled 905 km (562.3 miles) but for the purpose of the test, the car’s trip computer was used.

The Nexo completed the trip in 13 hours and six minutes at an average speed of 66.9 km/h (41.5 mph). During the journey, it purified 449,100 liters of air and consumed 6.27 kg of hydrogen

https://youtu.be/RyupLuOVny0

Source

[Venkatesh]

Hyundai Nexo showcased in India at the inauguration of new headquarters in Gurugram.











Link