Hyundai’s newest concept features a third-generation hydrogen fuel cell stack, showcasing its innovative “Art of Steel” design language. While technical details are limited, the upcoming powertrain, along with three “large” hydrogen tanks, is expected to deliver a range exceeding 400 miles and a maximum motor output of 150 kW in the production model set to launch in the spring of 2025. When designing an FCEV, designers considered what buyers wanted and created one that would look good in both cities and harsher environments. We can take a close look at Hyundai’s newest hydrogen car, but not too close. Latin for “beginning” or “first” is “Initium,” the name of the new SUV idea (quick, ask the Toyota Prius how it feels about this). It’s a sneak peek at Hyundai’s next passenger fuel-cell model, which will go into production in the first half of 2025. For now, it’s impossible to say how complicated the FCEV’s technology is, as the Latin plural of initium suggests. There are still some clues to find, though. Hyundai says that the Initium’s long range is increased by its low rolling resistance tires and huge, secret hydrogen fuel tanks. Hyundai said its goal is to have a motor with a maximum power of 150 kW and a range of more than 400 miles. Highway passing speeds (80–120 kph) are said to be 6.0 seconds, but the time it takes to go from 0 to 100 km/h has been cut down to 8.0 seconds compared to Hyundai’s latest FCEV, the Nexo, which we tested and found to go from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds. In a speech in Seoul, Jin Hwan Jung, senior vice president of vehicle development technology at Hyundai, said, “This is outstanding acceleration performance compared to competitor FCEVs.” The Initium FCEV production model will incorporate Hyundai’s third-generation fuel cell stack. This is after the Tucson FCEV (2013), which had a power density of 2.09 kW/l, and the Nexo (2018), which had a power density of 3.2 kW/l. Engineers told Invoice Pricing that the new stack would be even better, but they didn’t give any specific numbers. While the Nexo stack was good, the new stack will last 40% longer. The Initium can supply vehicle-to-load (V2L) electricity, so there is a small door on the passenger side of the back of the car that hides a standard 220V wall outlet. This does not show that it is a PHEV FCV. Hyundai says that when its H2 tanks are full, the Initium can make about 100,000 kWh of electricity that can power a normal Korean home for ten days. Initium Poised to Become the Hydrogen Flagship Hyundai wants to talk more about the new “Art of Steel” design language at this point. The Initium is the latest in Hyundai’s impressive string of recent design wins. Its body is made to look tougher, so it should work well in both urban and rural settings. This appropriately rough Nexo makeover has heavy, blocky bumpers and golden steel. Hyundai said the car has nine airbags, a camera inside the cabin for the driver to watch, and safety features like highway drive assist, but they didn’t show any pictures of the inside. SangYup Lee, who is in charge of the design of Hyundai and Genesis, says that Initium is a “flagship” of the future hydrogen society. “We tried something new by showing the materiality as it is, and we raised the strength of steel to the level of morphological beauty,” he said in a translated form. “We refer to it as the ‘art of steel,’ marking the beginning of an essential beauty that resonates through this car.” From the square or rectangular headlights to the four dots in the grille, which look like the four dots on the steering wheels of cars like the Ioniq 5 and the Inster electric city vehicle (which also spells out H in Morse code), the outside has touches of the company’s now-familiar parametric pixels light signature. The front and back lights of the built-in roof rack also keep the pixel design. The HTWO logo, which looks like two capital H letters sharing a side, is on both Hyundai’s rearview mirrors and roof rack. “We crafted the car to appear strong and rugged, featuring an armored bumper reminiscent of a solid hydrogen tank and exposed rear steel components in place of a muffler,” Lee explained. The Initium could be a straight line, though. The car looks less heavy because its C-pillar, back window, and 21-inch wheels are all curved. There is a line of horizontal stripes from the front wheels to the middle of the back doors. Hyundai said that the real goal was to capture the essence of HTWO, the Hyundai Motor Group’s hydrogen value chain business brand, even though it looks like a production car. This is where Initium comes in. Hyundai’s history with hydrogen was discussed a lot at the Seoul car show, which also gave hints about the company’s plans for the future with H2. Jarhoon (Jay) Chang, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, said that the company “will build the hydrogen ecosystem for cleaner, quieter, and safer fuel cell EVs to easily become part of your daily life, for everyone, everything, and everywhere.” Chang said what he did through a translator. Even though South Korea is smaller than the US and has better hydrogen refueling infrastructure, it is hard to live with a hydrogen car there. As of September 2024, the country has about 200 H2 gas stations. Initium’s guidance system has a route planner for FCEVs, so drivers can plan their trips without having to worry about range. The map can take the driver to the station and also check to see if it is open and if there are any other H2 vehicles ready to fill up.
