Hyundai Motor Co has unveiled a new Hydrogen-Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)called Initium, that is expected to go to market in the first half of 2025, as a new addition to its range of green fuel vehicles.
The Initium (the Latin word for mystery),has an improved target driving range of over 650km on a single refueling, up 6,7% compared with the 609km range of the Nexo, Hyundai’s first hydrogen-based SUV. The vehicle also has electric charging functionality and can be connected to normal electricity supply as a backup source of power.
Hydrogen Vehicle’s – Key in Hyundai’s Strategy
Ever since the release of the Nexo in 2018, Hyundai has remained a big proponent of hydrogen
During an investor day in August, Hyundai pledged to invest US$4-billion over the next decade to build a future around hydrogen to meet its net zero target by 2045 and become carbon neutral across all stages of production and operation.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have several advantages in that they provide faster refueling and longer range, and has a much lower weight, compared to electric vehicles (EV”S). However EVs are faster than most other vehicles.
“Art Of Steel” Design Focus
Hyundai’s latest concept also has showcased their new “Art of Steel” design language, wrapped around a third-generation hydrogen fuel cell stack. The Hyundai designers took note of latest trends and have listened to market demand for an FCEV that is meant to fit into an urban lifestyle and in the outdoors.
The new “Art of Steel” design language continues on a trend seen across multiple Auto designs with a rugged look that is still at home in the city. Thick, blocky fenders meet bronzed steel in an appropriately tough update to the Nexo.
Initium Specifications
While technical details are slim, the newly designed fuel-cell power plant plus three “large” H2 tanks with a maximum motor output of 150 kW will be introduced in the production version that will arrive in the spring of 2025.
The production Initium FCEV will use Hyundai’s third-generation fuel cell stack, following the company’s first independent design in the 2013 Tucson FCEV, which had a power density of 2.09 kW/l, and the 2018 Nexo with 3.2 kW/l. The durability of the new stack will also be increased by 40%, compared to the Nexo stack.
The Initium has nine airbags, driver monitoring through an in-cabin camera, and safety features like highway drive assist.
Initium Set to Be the Hydrogen Flagship
SangYup Lee, global design head for Hyundai and Genesis, said Initium is a “flagship” for the upcoming hydrogen society. “We took a new approach of exposing the materiality as it is, and we elevated the resilience of steel to morphological beauty,” he said. “We call it the ‘art of steel,’ and this is the starting point of essential beauty you can feel from this car.”
