hyundai ix35 fcev

Hyundai has completed the development of its third-generation ix35 Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), and the vehicle will begin in-service testing next year in limited numbers, working towards a market debut in 2015.

The FCEV version of the ix35 (known as the Tucson here) is equipped with a 100 kW fuel cell system and two hydrogen storage tanks rated at 700bar, and offers a range of 650 km on a single charge, as well as a maximum speed of 160 kph.

Both the fuel cell stack and drive system’s output rating of the ix35 are identical to the previous generation Tucson FCEV, but the ix35 features a 21 kW battery for its energy storage system compared to the earlier 100 kW super capacity unit in the second-gen Tucson FCEV, which also had half the hydrogen capacity at 350bar.

The company says that the overall volume of the fuel cell system has been downsized by 20% compared to the previous system, via modularisation of bulky parts in the fuel cell system, including the fuel cell stack, balance of plant (BOP), inverter and the high voltage junction box.

Most impressively, the ix35’s working range is a 76% improvement over the previous offering, which had a 370 km range on one charge. In other numerical terms, the ix35 FCEV has a petrol equivalent fuel efficiency of 31 km per litre, a 15% improvement over the old one’s 27 km/l.