For some time now, the major car manufacturers have been experimenting with hydrogen cells, as an alternative to batteries, to make a car move without traditional fossil fuel traction. But the South Korean house of Hyundai Motors arrived first on the market, announcing the arrival on the market of the Tucson ix Suv.
The machine will be manufactured at the Ulsan plant. The other manufacturers, such as General Motors, Mercedes and Toyota plan to launch their hydrogen-powered models for 2015. But “we – says Hyundai's announcement – are two years ahead”.
The car, however, will have a high price, around 100 million won (97 dollars) and refueling will not be easy: there are only 13 charging stations in the country. The hydrogen cells will have a power of 100kW and the compressed hydrogen tank will operate at 700 Bar. The range, however, will be much higher than that of electric cars: one charge will be enough for 594 kilometres.
Efficiency, however, will not be comparable to that of hybrids, such as Toyota (40 km/l - petrol) or Volkswagen (100 km/l, diesel). However, Hyundai says efficiency will improve.
