Hyundai, Kia and Next Hydrogen to advance alkaline electrolysis technology

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Next Hydrogen Corporation to develop an advanced alkaline water electrolysis system and related stack to help produce cost-effective green hydrogen.

Given that it is expensive and time-consuming to produce clean hydrogen with the current technology, the three partners are looking to improve the price competitiveness of clean hydrogen to support decarbonisation efforts.

The project will work on advancing stack-related technologies to reduce the cost of building and operating the system. This would be achieved through enhancing the performance of stack-related technologies in the alkaline water electrolysis process by developing a new stack to be operated at high current density and produce green hydrogen economically.

The newly developed stack will use Hyundai Motor and Kia’s component technology related to electrodes, bipolar plates and current collectors, and Next Hydrogen’s design technology. A pilot test is planned for 2022, with potential technological applications and commercial arrangements.

So far, the alkaline water electrolysis system is one of the most rigorously tested and with a long track record of R&D. The alkaline technology also has the advantage of producing large-scale hydrogen while using comparatively inexpensive catalysts, making the technology costs low.

Jae-Hyuk Oh, VP at Hyundai Motor Group. “This partnership is another leap forward for our hydrogen business and will be our first step into the alkaline water electrolysis market.”

Raveel Afzaal, CEO of Next Hydrogen, said, “This partnership is expected to accelerate efforts to address the incredible emerging opportunities in sustainable transportation globally.”

The three companies will also explore new business opportunities and technological applications, and commercial arrangements in the future.

Hyundai Motor Group is the parent company of Hyundai Motor and Kia and has recently introduced ‘HTWO’, a new brand representing the Group’s world-leading hydrogen fuel cell system. It is also working to develop a hydrogen fuel cell system that can be used in the mobility sector, including urban air mobility (UAM), automobiles, vessels and trains. Next Hydrogen Corporation is a Canadian company working on water electrolysis technology and a subsidiary of Next Hydrogen Solutions Inc.