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Ineos & Hyundai to develop hydrogen fuel cells for off-road vehicles

Ineos & Hyundai to develop hydrogen fuel cells for off-road vehicles
Ineos & Hyundai to develop hydrogen fuel cells for off-road vehicles

London-based Ineos and Hyundai, a South Korean automotive manufacturer, have reportedly agreed to collaborate and develop hydrogen fuel cells. The deal will eventually power new off-road vehicles of Ineos, a British chemical company.

Under the agreement terms, the two companies will form a reliable hydrogen supply in Europe as well as use fuel cells of Hyundai in the Grenadier, Ineoss vehicle. For the record, Ineos founder, Jim Ratcliffe, has invested a large sum of money in developing Grenadier, which is anticipated to be launched at the beginning of 2022. In addition, Ineos is planning to launch a version that is capable of running with zero CO2 emission to meet the strict environmental standards across the globe.

Electric motors can be powered by hydrogen fuel cells, with water as its only emission. Several companies worldwide have expressed their belief that hydrogen will become the dominant technology to power larger vehicles such as trains and bus, as it provides high energy density as compared to lithium-ion batteries.

In 2018, Ineos launched its effort to increase its offerings in the automotive market, following the confirmation from Jaguar Land Rover to redesign its Land Rover Defender, which has had little external change in 70 years. Moreover, Mr. Ratcliffe planned on manufacturing Grenadier in the United Kingdom. The vehicle was later chosen to be manufactured in France after Daimler put up a facility for sale.

Commercial director of Ineos Automotive, Mark Tennant, has reportedly cited that the internal combustion engines have remained a suitable option for Grenadier to handle the rough and tough jobs. However, developing hydrogen fuel cells has become a part of its long-term plan.

The latest deal is anticipated to be closed within weeks, with Grenadier production likely to commence in December 2021.

It is expected that the promotion of the hydrogen supply chain will benefit the existing chemicals business of Ineos, which has been producing 300,000 tons of hydrogen per year.

Source credit:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/23/ineos-signs-hydrogen-fuel-cell-deal-for-its-off-road-vehicle

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Omkar Patwardhan

Omkar Patwardhan started his professional career in the hospitality industry. Having nurtured a deep-sated passion for words however, he found his way into content writing and now pens down articles for theresearchprocess.com and a few other websites, spanning the sectors of business, finance, and technology./