[Flyer]

Hyundai Motors agreed a deal with Audi to collaborate on hydrogen car technology, hoping to boost an energy segment that has lagged behind battery electric vehicles.

Audi and Hyundai have signed a multi-year patent cross-licensing agreement that will allow the two automakers to share hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle technology. The agreement also covers both automakers' sibling brands, including Kia and the various brands of the vast Volkswagen Group empire.

Under the agreement, Audi and Hyundai will pool resources in developing future fuel-cell powertrains. That means Hyundai will be bringing more to the partnership initially. Having launched the Tucson Fuel Cell and its Nexo successor, Hyundai has experience with building production-spec fuel-cell vehicles that Audi doesn't.

The Korean automaker will grant its German counterpart access to powertrain components and general know-how from those models. Audi will also have access to the supply chain Hyundai has built up since launching the Tucson Fuel Cell (sold as the ix35 Fuel Cell abroad) in 2013. Hyundai expects the partnership to create new business opportunities for its Mobis fuel-cell components division.

Audi has been working on hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains since 2004, and is the designated VW Group lead brand for the technology. Audi hasn't put a fuel-cell car into production yet, but it is planning to do so. At some point in the next decade, Audi said it will launch a "small series production" fuel-cell model that will take the form of a "sporty SUV." Audi noted that the collaboration with Hyundai may allow it to offer a higher-volume model as well.

Both Audi and Hyundai view fuel-cell vehicles as a viable alternative to battery-electric cars because they generally offer longer range as well as short refueling times comparable to gasoline and diesel cars.

Source
Press release

[Wanderers]

I shared a finding on non fossil fuel based cars in another thread. Please see below link.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post4417232

I do not see much growth in fuel cell technology. EVs have overtaken them due to their commercial viability. Such collaborations are short lived and take a back stage due to non-transparency among collaborating partners.

[MaheshY1]

Carmakers are fearing the inevitable because in the not too distant future, some city in China is going to dethrone Detroit to become the Automotive capital of the world.

They're all willing to come together to counter Tesla. They're afraid. Their reign is coming to an end. Electricity is the new OIL.

Here's my quote from last year, first published on ZigWheels.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, on the other hand, sees no future for Hydrogen vehicles and calls FCVs "silly" as it's not a source of electricity but a way of storing and transporting electricity. Instead, Musk suggests that Methane would be a more cost-effective fuel requiring far fewer steps to take it from well to wheel.

It's easy to understand what he's trying to convey. Hydrogen, by itself, does not exist in our atmosphere. We first have to break water into Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules, get rid of the Oxygen and then compress the Hydrogen to more than 10,000PSI; all of which requires electricity. Then it needs to be transported in containers capable of handling such high pressures. At the filling station, the gas needs a safe storage and distribution infrastructure. Instead, directly capturing solar energy and storing it in batteries is far easier and something even a layman can do.

Since it requires a massive, purpose-built machinery to produce, store and distribute Hydrogen, this method puts the power to manipulate the final cost of the fuel in the hands of a few. Not unlike fossil fuels. You can't produce it yourself for personal use and save a few pennies on the side. Not to mention, the Hydrogen is only as green as the source of electricity used to produce it. The same could also be said about electric vehicles, but it's at least possible to generate your own electricity for domestic use from renewable sources without investing several crores of rupees.

Elon Musk also runs Tesla's subsidiary, SolarCity, a company that offers solar energy production and storage solutions for commercial and personal use. It makes Tesla the only carmaker in the world that also sells the means to produce free fuel forever along with its car.

It doesn't get any greener than that.

Source: ZigWheels

[KK_HakunaMatata]

I was working for a UK based company at Bangalore, who were developing the Hydrogen fuel cell technology for cars and other uses such as Spot electricity generation for Mobile towers, Iphone mobile charging technology etc and they even had a tie up with Suzuki for development of Hydrogen Fuel Cell based technology for their cars. Major drawback of HFC technology right now is the commercial viability, there are very few companies venturing in this and the units cost a bomb and availability of pure hydrogen is also a question as Hydrogen logistics is a very risky thing if not handled properly.

So, HFC based technologies should take a decade at least to consider as alternative to other available fuels or even EV.

KK

[GTO]

Wow, curious choice of partners. Who would have ever guessed that Hyundai & Audi would be ringing each other? And does Audi really need to look outside the vast VAG empire for technology?

To know more about the tech, click here.

Originally Posted by Wanderers

I do not see much growth in fuel cell technology.

Agreed. Even Toyota - once a believer of fuel cell only - has jumped on the EV bandwagon.

[Chethan B G]

Solid State Batteries are said to be the future.

1. Lower cost
2. Higher storage capacity
3. Far far Lighter and compact
4. Higher charge - discharge cycles
5. Charging time in minutes
6. Safe in the event of crash
7. Does not catch fire or explode

This will bring down the cost of EV and also make it practical and viable. This coupled with solar panels can be interesting.

Link: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-t...ry-technology/


Solid state batteries are said to last a month on Mobile phones with a single charge.

There are also developments on Nano technology based capacitors to store energy which can be used as batteries for Mobile phones.

Battery technology is being advanced / developed very fast. That is said to propel everything electrical.

[MaheshY1]

Soon after the Volvo XC40 price was revealed, I got to speak with the MD, Charles Frump, and I brought up Hydrogen. Here's the response:

At the moment we’re all in on electric. When I look at the global development, this seems the way the industry is going. We just want to get their first. Not only globally, but also in India, we want to be the leaders in the luxury segment for electrification.

Only the old-school carmakers with pockets full of cash are half-heartedly researching about Hydrogen. Because they can't go all in and lose the electric fight. Electric is the future. They just won't admit it.

The really serious ones are on the EVs side.