Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man, will be joining forces to give hydrogen fuel cells to vehicles, and Ratcliffe INEOS Group (the British based chemical company, a major producer of hydrogen) will explore the opportunities that can be proven fruitful to produce and supply hydrogen to Hyundai. The opportunities will include the production and supply of hydrogen as well as new hydrogen applications, technologies, and business models. Both companies will initially seek to facilitate public and private sector projects focused on the development of a hydrogen value chain in Europe.
The new hydrogen project will help in kickstarting the new hydrogen economy and would help in the opening of new projects for INEOS for his output of gas storage caverns that could be used for hydrogen. The two companies will also work together to explore the Hyundai fuel system in INEOS Grenadier vehicles. INEOS recently launched a new business to develop and build clean hydrogen capacity across Europe in support of the drive towards a zero-carbon future. The company currently produces 300,000 tons of hydrogen a year mainly as a by-product from its chemical manufacturing operations.
The main target of the project is to reduce combustion engine and decarbonization industrial pollution which will further help in building sustainable and cleaner transportation. The plan will help Hyundai to build the infrastructure that Hyundai needs for their new models like NEXO SUV(the world’s first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV) to catch out in Europe as in 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced its mid-to the long-term roadmap, Fuel Cell Vision 2030, to increase annual production of hydrogen fuel cell systems to 700,000 units by 2030.
Though there is some doubt on the future of fuel vehicles Hyundai is still willing to invest in this project as hydrogen tanks can be refilled faster than batteries and fuels cells can offer a great driving range and believes that it with INEOUS expertise they will be able to diversify into greener technologies and for INEOS collaborating with Hyundai will definitely help entering in the auto market.
–Tripti Thakur
Jaipuria Talks Blog 