The electrode stack building of HTWO

BEIJING, December 20 (TMTPost) -- With the increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles and the rise of new players and domestic brands, China-foreign joint venture car companies have faced low consumer acceptance in recent years, leading to a tough market environment.

In response, joint venture car companies are trying to make changes: they are formulating strategies for electrification to confront the situation head-on. Meanwhile, they are exploring more cutting-edge technologies and products - such as hydrogen energy - hoping to catch up with its rivals over time.

According to the International Hydrogen Council's forecast, by 2050, hydrogen energy will account for 18% of global energy consumption, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will make up 20%-25% of the global vehicle market.

Japanese and South Korean car manufacturers are the most proactive in the development of hydrogen fuel. Toyota began researching hydrogen energy vehicles back in 1992, while Honda started around the same time, followed by Hyundai Motor in 1998.

While 2050 is still far off, these car manufacturers are no longer confined to the laboratory after decades of research and development. They have not only launched vehicles but also moved to  the upstream of the industry chain.

Last Friday, Beijing Hyundai held the "Hi-Tech" Super Technology Day in Guangzhou. The TMTPost visited its Hydrogen Fuel Cell System (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd. ("HTWO Guangzhou"), learning about the company’s layout and planning in the hydrogen energy field firsthand.

Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacturing company headquartered in Shunyi, Beijing, China, and a joint-venture between BAIC Motor and South Korean Hyundai Motor Company, with both holding a 50% stake.

An annual production of 6,500 sets of hydrogen fuel cell systems

HTWO is Hyundai Motor Group's exclusive brand for hydrogen fuel cell systems launched in 2020. HTWO Guangzhou is the company’s first overseas base for hydrogen fuel cell system production, research, and sales. It is located in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, covering a total area of ​​202,000 square meters.

In December 2019, Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Guangdong Provincial Government of China. After about a year of market research and site selection, the HTWO Guangzhou investment contract was signed in January 2021, and construction began in March. After four years, the base was completed and put into operation in June 2023.

At the site, the "HTWO Guangzhou" production line includes the electrode stack building and system assembly workshops, connected by a corridor on the second floor. The electrode stack building is mainly responsible for producing the core components of the hydrogen fuel cell system - the stack. After production, it will be transported to the system assembly building via autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) through the second-floor corridor, where it will be assembled with other components to form a complete hydrogen fuel cell system and undergo activation testing.

According to the staff, the planned capacity of this base is to produce 6,500 sets of hydrogen fuel cell systems annually for industries such as automobiles, power generators, ships, and trains.

After production, HTWO Guangzhou, together with domestic partners, has developed three hydrogen-powered logistics vehicles and one sanitation vehicle. Additionally, in May of this year, HTWO Guangzhou, together with state-owned Guangzhou Hengyun Enterprises Holdings Limited and Guangzhou Development District Transportation Investment Group, established a joint venture company - H2 Solution. In June, the company collaborated with Guangzhou Public Transport Group, Hengyun Group, Transportation Investment Group, and WeRide to jointly promote buses, passenger cars, logistics vehicles, refrigerated vehicles, and hydrogen-powered autonomous sweeping vehicles.

Beijing Hyundai’s Hydrogen-powered vehicles available in China

In addition to laying out the hydrogen fuel cell industry chain, Beijing Hyundai's hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles have also been launched in China.

In April last year, Hyundai Motor's hydrogen fuel cell SUV NEXO (Chinese version) obtained the Beijing New Energy Vehicle license plate, marking it as Hyundai Motor's first hydrogen fuel cell passenger car compliant with Chinese regulations.

NEXO is Hyundai Motor's second-generation hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, launched in 2018. Prior to this, Hyundai Motor had been researching hydrogen fuel cell technology for many years. In 1998, the company established a fuel cell development department and launched its first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Hyundai ix35 FCEV, in 2013.

The front compartment of the Chinese version of NEXO is equipped with a hydrogen fuel reactor, which generates water and electricity through oxidation-reduction reactions to drive the vehicle. It is also equipped with a 1.56-kilowatt-hour battery to store energy recovered during braking for rapid acceleration.

Under the CLTC-P condition with a full hydrogen tank, the vehicle's range is 550 kilometers, and it takes about 5 minutes to fill the hydrogen tank from zero. The vehicle was launched in October and is produced and delivered based on orders, priced at 800,000 RMB.

Although this model was recently launched in China, its global sales had exceeded 37,000 units by October 2023.

In addition to passenger cars, in 2020, Hyundai Motor's hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles were also launched and began overseas sales in the same year. Currently, the hydrogen fuel cell heavy-duty truck XCIENT Fuel Cell has been exported to Switzerland and the United States for operation, while the hydrogen fuel cell bus ELEC CITY Fuel Cell has also been widely used in South Korea.

According to official information, the plan is to achieve an annual production capacity of 700,000 units equipped with its hydrogen fuel cell system by 2030.

Controversy over hydrogen-powered cars remains

During the era of gasoline-powered vehicles, Beijing Hyundai had been dominant. From 2013 to 2016, its sales were 1.03 million, 1.16 million, 1.06 million, and 1.14 million vehicles respectively.

However, in 2022, the joint venture only achieved a sales volume of 254,000 vehicles for the entire year, accounting for only about 20% of its peak period.

In respond to the decline, Gong Yueqiong, Deputy General Manager of BAIC Group and Chairman of Beijing Hyundai, stated earlier this year at the launch event of Hyundai's new car MUFASA: From BAIC's perspective, they hope that Beijing Hyundai can be the first to succeed in transition among joint venture brands. Also, the sales structure and level after the transformation can return to the level when it first led the joint venture brand."

Beijing Hyundai is accelerating the transformation to electrification as part of its efforts to return to the top-tier. In 2022 it launched a new plan. According to the plan, it will first comprehensively hybridize existing models and will introduce four to five new electric vehicles within the next three years.

Meanwhile, it continues pursuing the hydrogen energy route mentioned earlier.

From a global perspective, the sales of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have also fluctuated. According to data released by South Korean market research firm SNE Research from January to September of this year, global hydrogen-powered vehicle sales decreased by 21.3% year-on-year, totaling 11,290 units.

These fluctuations might be attributed to doubts about hydrogen fuel vehicles, such as concerns about safety, high hydrogen production costs, and the scarcity of hydrogen refueling stations.

For instance, concerning refueling stations, TMTPost had reported in an article that as of April 7, 2023, China had only built 301 hydrogen refueling stations.

Moreover, the construction cost of a hydrogen refueling station in China is approximately 10-15 million yuan. Imported core components remain predominant, coupled with land use issues, resulting in high construction costs. Additionally, with subsequent operational and maintenance costs, the operating cost of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is especially high without achieving economies of scale.

However, future mobility options are diverse, and electrification is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of technology. Although hydrogen energy is still in its early stages of development, somewhat reminiscent of new energy electric vehicles a decade ago, for at least the next few decades, hydrogen fuel and pure electric power will represent two parallel and complementary development paths.

(Originally published on the TMTPost. Author | Han Jingxian, Editor | Zhang Min)