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Hyundai Motor needs its rivals to buy its hydrogen fuel cell system to encourage the global adoption of this technology and help it reach a commercial scale, as the South Korean company becomes the last group to reform its business model to survive rapid changes in the automotive sector.
The fifth-largest global automaker in terms of sales plans to spend 7.6 billion won ($ 6.7 billion) over 10 years to develop this technology, which, he hopes, will prove more popular than electric to replace gasoline and diesel vehicles.
"If we do not actively work in the global market, we will be dependent on car sales from our own companies. Today, it may be competitive, but in the future we will not be able to grow, "said Sae Hoon Kim, head of Hyundai's fuel cell division at the Financial Times.
The decision to provide technology to competitors comes as automakers turn to different business models to accelerate the mbad adoption of cleaner fuels and boost investment in new supply chains.
Electric vehicles loaded with batteries and cars fueled by hydrogen fuel cells currently represent only a fraction of the market. However, some car groups are expected to dominate electricity over the next two decades.
Volkswagen, the largest automaker in terms of sales, is injecting billions into the electric model. He has agreed to license his electric vehicle technology as part of an offer to dominate the battery market.
Some industry figures indicate that people traveling shorter distances by car may prefer electric batteries, while commercial transport may be better suited to longer distances and faster hydrogen refueling.
Hyundai, which has been criticized for years for its slowness in using new technologies, is also injecting billions of dollars into electric vehicles.
But the lack of infrastructure in the hydrogen fuel cell market has blatantly highlighted the need for collaboration between traditional competitors, Kim said.
Japan's Toyota Motor is also sharing its technology for hybrid vehicles and fuel cell patents with Chinese companies to boost growth.
Hyundai, however, goes further by selling its entire fuel cell system – which converts stored hydrogen into electricity to power the vehicle's engines – rather than giving up technology to its technology.
"The license will be difficult because there are too many subcomponents in the stack and in the system, which should be controlled precisely during the production process," Kim said.
Lee Hang-koo, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economy and Trade, warned that the long-term transformation of South Korea's second-largest enterprise "will not be easy."
"The strategy seems appropriate, but it is essential to know what interest the global automakers will bring to hydrogen technology and whether the badociated infrastructure will be built in time," he said. .
Analysts are also concerned about broader industry plans to commercialize hydrogen technology.
Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University, said that Hyundai, Toyota and Honda, who were the pioneers of hydrogen, were gaining a technological advantage, but that it will take a long time for them to money.
Critics also point to the high cost and low initial sales of early commercial models to hydrogen. Elon Musk, chief executive of pioneer electric car Tesla, would have dubbed the competing technology the "crazy cells".
An industry group estimated in 2017 that, to develop the market by 2030, investments of $ 280 billion would be needed, including $ 110 billion on hydrogen production and $ 80 billion in storage, transportation and distribution.
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