Hyundai Motor Company Unveils Fuel Cellpowered
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Hyundai Motor America 10550 Talbert Ave, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 MEDIA WEBSITE: HyundaiNews.com CORPORATE WEBSITE: HyundaiUSA.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY UNVEILS FUEL CELLPOWERED SANTA FE SUV AT GRAND OPENING OF CALIFORNIA FUEL CELL PARTNERSHIP Miles Johnson Senior Manager, Quality, Service and Technology (714) 3661048 [email protected] ID: 29074 Hyundai Santa Fe FCEV Among First Fuel Cell SUVs, Designed for Outstanding Power, Passenger Comfort and Cargo Capacity SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 1, 2000 – Hyundai Motor Company is unveiling its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle here today at the grand opening of the California Fuel Cell Partnership garage facility. Working with American partners including International Fuel Cells, Enova Systems, and IMPCO Technologies, Hyundai’s cuttingedge entry is based on its new Santa Fe model and is among the world’s first sport utility vehicles powered by a fuel cell. Besides being an SUV, a highly popular body style in the U.S. market, the Santa Fe FCEV is being designed to feature extremely low noise levels plus roomy passenger space and cargo capacity identical to that of a standard, gasolinepowered Santa Fe. In addition, the Santa Fe FCEV is built on a lightweight, performanceboosting aluminum chassis, helping to give the Hyundai a powertoweight ratio similar to that of a conventional SUV. These features are intended to place the Santa Fe FCEV among the most commercially viable fuel cell powered vehicles. And the only emissions from the Santa Fe FCEV will be water vapor. Road testing of the Santa Fe FCEV in the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CFCP) program will help Hyundai with the early detection and resolution of various possible technical challenges. The road testing program will be conducted with the assistance of Hyundai’s U.S. research and development center, Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. Hyundai Motor Company became the sixth member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership when Hyundai Motor Company Chairman Mong Koo Chung signed the agreement in June 2000. This paved the way for active participation in the effort to commercialize alternativeenergy, environmentally friendly vehicles and helped to set the standard for fuel cell vehicles. “Fuel cell vehicles are the leading contenders of the nextgeneration alternative fuel vehicles,” said Chung Goo Lee, president of worldwide research and development for Hyundai Motor Company. “The benefits of environmental protection, the balance of energy supply and demand, and the very future of the automotive industry are more important than the technical difficulties to be overcome in developing fuel cell technology. Representing Korea, Hyundai is actively participating in the worldwide efforts to develop and commercialize fuel cell vehicles, the importance of which can be compared to the introduction of the internal combustion engine in the early 1900s.” The Santa Fe FCEV Hyundai’s fuel cell vehicle is based on the Santa Fe, an allnew 2001 modelyear sport utility vehicle just going on sale in the U.S. market. The Santa Fe is among a new breed of “crossover” SUVs that feature a carlike, unitbody construction, not a bodyon frame design like most SUVs and trucks, which can lead to a harsher ride. In addition to the smooth ride, the Santa Fe was built to be “right sized” for the U.S. market – small enough for good handling and easy parking, but large enough to carry families and their cargo. Size and space were strong considerations when Hyundai built the Santa Fe FCEV. The engineers packaged the fuel cell and hydrogen systems so that the basic shape of the Santa Fe would remain unchanged, and the ample passenger room and cargo areas would be unaffected. The Hyundai’s optimum space design was achieved by packaging the fuel cell system under the rear seats. The hydrogen storage tank is in place of a Koreanmarket LPG (liquefied propane gas) tank, and the electric motor, with control system, is underhood in what was the engine compartment. Because the fuel cell system does not intrude into the vehicle’s passenger or storage area, the Santa Fe FCEV is a step closer to commercialization than many previous fuel cell vehicles. The hydrogen fuel cell system that powers the Santa Fe’s motor was developed by Hyundai’s partner, International Fuel Cells of South Windsor, Conn., a division of United Technologies Corporation. It is among the world’s best internally humidified type fuel cells, producing 75 kilowatts net power under nearambient pressure. The IFC system will be smaller, yet have more power, than many fuel cell systems in previous vehicles. It also dispenses with the highpressure requirements of other fuel cells, creating a simpler, lowercost system. In April, Hyundai teamed with IFC, which specializes in the development of fuel cell power plants, under a joint development project to share hydrogen fuel cell system technology and apply it to automobiles. Enova Systems of Torrance, Calif., a major developer of electric and hybrid drivetrains for Hyundai, is supplying the electric drivetrain, motor and control unit. Also, instead of using an older 3,600 psi hydrogen storage tank, the Santa Fe FCEV will be equipped with a 5,000 psi storage tank from IMPCO Technologies, of Cerritos, Calif. This system minimizes the size of the fuel tank while enabling the vehicle to go more than 100 miles in one fueling. The resulting Santa Fe FCEV vehicle will participate in a CFCP test driving program for fuel cell vehicles in April 2001 with models from DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen, among others. Hyundai engineers expect that the lightweight aluminum chassis of the Santa Fe FCEV will help it achieve performance goals comparable with vehicles featuring common internal combustion engines. Thinking beyond the Santa Fe FCEV, Hyundai has plans for developing fuel cell vehicle technology using gasoline as an energy source. Hyundai and its partners aim to develop a gasoline fuel cell vehicle by 2002 that will be closer to commercialization than other alternativefuel vehicles because it will be able to utilize the existing fuel infrastructure. Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, Korea. Its headquarters are located in Ann Arbor, Mich., with two branch offices in the Los Angeles area. International Fuel Cells is the only company producing stationary fuel cell systems commercially. The company currently markets the PC25™, a 200kilowatt fuel cell system for commercial applications. In addition to developing automotive and stationary fuel cell systems, IFC also supplies the fuel cells used on the Space Shuttle. The California Fuel Cell Partnership which formally began in April 1999 includes auto manufacturers (DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, and now GM and Toyota); energy providers (BP, Shell, Texaco); fuel cell companies (Ballard Power Systems and International Fuel Cells); and government agencies (the California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, South Coast Air Quality Management District, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Department of Transportation). # # # Hyundai Motor America 10550 Talbert Ave, Fountain Valley, CA 92708 MEDIA WEBSITE: HyundaiNews.com CORPORATE WEBSITE: HyundaiUSA.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY UNVEILS FUEL CELLPOWERED SANTA FE SUV AT GRAND OPENING OF CALIFORNIA FUEL CELL PARTNERSHIP Miles Johnson Senior Manager, Quality, Service and Technology (714) 3661048 [email protected] ID: 29074 Hyundai Santa Fe FCEV Among First Fuel Cell SUVs, Designed for Outstanding Power, Passenger Comfort and Cargo Capacity SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 1, 2000 – Hyundai Motor Company is unveiling its first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle here today at the grand opening of the California Fuel Cell Partnership garage facility. Working with American partners including International Fuel Cells, Enova Systems, and IMPCO Technologies, Hyundai’s cuttingedge entry is based on its new Santa Fe model and is among the world’s first sport utility vehicles powered by a fuel cell. Besides being an SUV, a highly popular body style in the U.S. market, the Santa Fe FCEV is being designed to feature extremely low noise levels plus roomy passenger space and cargo capacity identical to that of a standard, gasolinepowered Santa Fe. In addition, the Santa Fe FCEV is built on a lightweight, performanceboosting aluminum chassis, helping to give the Hyundai a powertoweight ratio similar to that of a conventional SUV. These features are intended to place the Santa Fe FCEV among the most commercially viable fuel cell powered vehicles. And the only emissions from the Santa Fe FCEV will be water vapor. Road testing of the Santa Fe FCEV in the California Fuel Cell Partnership (CFCP) program will help Hyundai with the early detection and resolution of various possible technical challenges. The road testing program will be conducted with the assistance of Hyundai’s U.S. research and development center, Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. Hyundai Motor Company became the sixth member of the California Fuel Cell Partnership when Hyundai Motor Company Chairman Mong Koo Chung signed the agreement in June 2000. This paved the way for active participation in the effort to commercialize alternativeenergy, environmentally friendly vehicles and helped to set the standard for fuel cell vehicles. “Fuel cell vehicles are the leading contenders of the nextgeneration alternative fuel vehicles,” said Chung Goo Lee, president of worldwide research and development for Hyundai Motor Company. “The benefits of environmental protection, the balance of energy supply and demand, and the very future of the automotive industry are more important than the technical difficulties to be overcome in developing fuel cell technology. Representing Korea, Hyundai is actively participating in the worldwide efforts to develop and commercialize fuel cell vehicles, the importance of which can be compared to the introduction of the internal combustion engine in the early 1900s.” The Santa Fe FCEV Hyundai’s fuel cell vehicle is based on the Santa Fe, an allnew 2001 modelyear sport utility vehicle just going on sale in the U.S.