Kia Corporation and Hyundai Motor Company have signed a memorandum of understanding with Next Hydrogen Corporation to find cheap and cost-effective ways to produce clean hydrogen. Next Hydrogen Corporation is a Canadian company and a subsidiary of Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc. which specialises in water electrolysis technology to produce cost-effective hydrogen. The aim of the trio is to industrialise the production of hydrogen and to apply it in various modes of transportation. Here is a rundown of the important aspects of this merger.
Aim of finding sustainable and cheap ways of creating hydrogen
Jointly develop an alkaline water electrolysis system
Next Hydrogen Corporation partners with the two car manufacturers to find alternative ways to manufacture hydrogen
Explore potential technological applications and commercial arrangements with a test pilot planned for next year.
In today's market, it is expensive and time consuming to produce clean hydrogen. Many companies have shied away from the technology due to the complexities.
Alkaline water electrolysis system opens the door to the possibility of being able to produce in a large-scale capacity using relatively inexpensive catalysts and hence making facility costs low.
Jae-Hyuk Oh, Vice President and Head of Energy Business Development Group, Hyundai Motor Group said, ”We are pleased to partner with Next Hydrogen specializing in state-of-the-art water electrolysis technology. This partnership is another leap forward for our hydrogen business and will be our first step into the alkaline water electrolysis market. We believe our technology will be an excellent match for Next Hydrogen's technology, and this synergy will help achieve our goal to provide our customers with cost-effective green hydrogen.”
Raveel Afzaal, President and CEO of Next Hydrogen, ”We are extremely appreciative of the opportunity to work with Kia and Hyundai Motor, given their industry leadership as champions of this technology. This partnership is expected to accelerate efforts to address the incredible emerging opportunities in sustainable transportation globally.”
Why is Alkaline water electrolysis an important approach to produce hydrogen?
There are various different ways of producing hydrogen. The first approach is conveniently called ‘green’ hydrogen. In this process, hydrogen is created with zero carbon emissions and is produced using water electrolysis powered by renewable energies such as offshore wind.
The second approach is called ‘grey’ hydrogen which is made with fossil fuels and emits carbon dioxide in the air during the process.‘Blue’ hydrogen is produced in the same way, but with carbon-capture technologies in place, it prevents carbon dioxide from being released in the air and instead stores it deep underground.
This common goal of developing and producing cheap ‘green’ hydrogen on an industrial level has brought Hyundai Motor Group and Next Hydrogen together. Hyundai Motor Group, the parent of Kia and Hyundai, has recently introduced ‘HTWO’ which is the group’s representation of its hydrogen fuel cell system. The group is amping up efforts in the hydrogen fuel cell market with the aim of using it in various forms of mobility such as urban air mobility (UAM), automobiles, vessels and trains and beyond.
Hydrogen is still an expensive fuel to develop and transport at the same time. The partnership of these two giant companies will help push the envelope of the hydrogen fuel market and if their project sees success, they may be able to produce hydrogen on an industrial level. This will make hydrogen a viable option for the ‘fuel of the future’ title.