SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) — Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker by sales, said Wednesday that it has signed an initial agreement with French companies Air Liquide SA and energy firm Engie in the latest move to boost sales of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in Paris on Tuesday, Hyundai said it will partner with the French firms for the spread of the zero-emission cars and charging stations in France.
French Air Liquide is the world’s biggest supplier of industrial gases.
Executives of Hyundai Motor Co. and the French companies Air Liquide SA and energy firm Engie sign a memorandum of understanding at a hotel in Paris on Oct. 16, 2018, in this photo provided by Hyundai Motor. (Yonhap)
The move represents Hyundai Motor’s latest attempt to boost sales of its hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in Europe.
Global carmakers have been racing to go eco-friendly amid tightened regulations on emissions of greenhouse gases that scientists say are to blame for global warming.
A fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) only emits water vapor as it converts stored hydrogen into electricity, which turns the vehicle’s motor.
Hyundai Motor has recently said it aims to ship 5,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles to France by 2025.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in attended an event to test-drive Hyundai’s NEXO hydrogen fuel cell electric car and charge it at a station in downtown Paris during his recent visit to France.
In Paris, three Tucson hydrogen fuel cell electric cars are in operation as taxis.
Hyundai Motor, the world’s first mass-producer of fuel cell vehicles, said it has shipped a total of 100 NEXO FCEVs to government organizations, startups and research institutes in the United States, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands since July.
In September, Hyundai Motor signed an initial agreement with Swiss hydrogen company H2 Energy to provide 1,000 fuel cell electric trucks.
The world’s hydrogen fuel cell electric car market is expected to grow to 400 million passenger cars, 15-20 million trucks and 5 million buses by 2025, U.S. management consulting firm McKinsey & Company said in a recent report.
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