The wait is finally over for mass produced fuel cell electric vehicles as Hyundai has finally unveiled the ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle, which has become the first in the world that will be available for purchase. The zero-emission vehicle was unveiled at a ceremony in Korea. Built at the company’s Ulsan manufacturing facility, the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell comes with a 100kW fuel cell stack that consumes hydrogen to produce electricity for the vehicle’s electric motors.
As is the case with all fuel cell concepts we’ve seen so far, the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell will emit just water vapor from the exhaust pipe. Hyundai states that the ix35 Fuel Cell can be topped with hydrogen gas in just a few minutes and a full tank of gas will give the car a range of 549km. Performance wise the car can accelerate to 100kph in 12.5 seconds and has a top speed of 160kph.
The company stated that the car is the most environmentally friendly in the auto industry and proves that hydrogen fuel cell technology is no longer a dream. The first batch of 17 Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell cars are bound for fleet customers and 15 will be employed by the City of Copenhagen in Denmark. Other than this, the company plans to build 1000 units for lease to public and private fleets, primarily in Europe. The first production ix35 Fuel Cell will be on display at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.