Hyundai builds U.S. hydrogen fuel station

Seoul February 21, 2005; Kim So-hyun writing for the Korea Herald reportred that Hyundai Motor Group said that it set up its first hydrogen fueling station at its technical center in Chino, California.

The station, unveiled in a partnership with UTC Fuel Cells and ChevronTexaco, produces 15 kilograms of hydrogen per day from natural gas, and has the capacity to charge 30 cars a day, taking less than two minutes to fill each vehicle, Hyundai said in a statement.

Hyundai's hydrogen station is the first to be completed under a five-year Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration Validation Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The program is designed to demonstrate safe, practical hydrogen technologies in real-world settings.

The Chino station will play a vital role in fuel cell vehicle fleet testing, technical development and standardization of hydrogen energy stations, said a Hyundai official. Chino is about 60 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles.

American racing legend Mario Andretti fills up Hyundai`s environment-friendly Tucson hydrogen fuel cell model at the Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center in Chino, California, before test driving the car. [Hyundai Kia Automotive Group]

Over the next five years, the automotive group plans to operate 16 Hyundai Tucson and 16 Kia Sportage hydrogen-electric vehicles in major U.S. cities and build five more hydrogen stations in California and Michigan with the two partners.

Hyundai's fuel cell car can be started in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celcius, and has a range of 300 kilometers from 80 kilowatts of power.

Hyundai is a leader in adapting fuel cell technology for automotive applications. It joined the California Fuel Cell Car Partnership in 2000 and its first-generation Santa Fe FCEV won awards in 2001 and 2003 at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum, an international competition for alternative energy vehicles.

In 2003, Hyundai and UTC Fuel Cells agreed to collaborate on Hyundai's second-generation fuel cell vehicles based on the new Tucson and Sportage sport utility vehicle platforms.

Korea's largest automaker provided the Ministry of Environment with 50 Click hybrid hatchbacks last October for testing and plans to set up a production line with annual capacity for 300,000 hybrid cars by 2010.