Hyundai enters hydrogen-fuelled boat race

The Korean carmaker overnight announced it would join forces with its sister brand, Hyundai Global Service, to work on the technology.

The new fuel cell group will also tap the resources of a company called Korean Register to help it develop and commercialise the boat-based marine fuel cell engines.

Hyundai will take a similar approach to its on-water fuel cell technology by taking the components built for its cars – in Hyundai’s case the Nexo SUV and XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck, and in Toyota’s the Mirai sedan – and harden it for a life on the world’s oceans.

Hydrogen has much appeal for marine applications. The fuel is very light, and boats actually float on one of the largest and most easily accessible sources of hydrogen – water.

The fuel cell system is also very modular, meaning that up-sizing the system is as easy as adding extra fuel cells to extract more performance.

Using electric motors also brings a big advantage, as the motors tend to generate maximum torque almost as soon as they start spinning, greatly increasing hole shot performance compared with a conventionally fuelled engine.

However, there are a few hiccups that Hyundai, and Toyota for that matter, will need to overcome. 

One is that hydrogen fuel is difficult to store, with modern-day tanks losing up to half their fuel within a couple of weeks – hydrogen is the smallest element so can easily find its way through the tanks that are meant to store it.

The other is that it has to be kept at very high pressures and at extremely low temperatures, more than minus 250 degrees, making it tricky to transfer from the bowser to the fuel tank.

One onboard, though, and the hydrogen is mixed with oxygen in the air inside the fuel cell to create electricity that can either power an electric motor or top up a battery, and water that you can drink.

Hyundai said the project aimed to “make a splash in the green vessel market”, starting with a small boat due for a launch in the second half of 2022. 

“In the mid- to long-term period, the three partners will focus on developing and introducing propulsion systems for mid- to large-sized vessels,” it said.

Hyundai Motor Group, the parent company of Hyundai Motor, has also recently introduced “HTWO”, a new brand representing its hydrogen fuel cell system.

Japanese marine engine specialist Yanmar has also flagged plans that it wants to develop fuel cell systems for its future powerplants.

However, rather than develop its own technology, it has tapped into Toyata’s.