Audi and Hyundai Motor said they will cooperate on developing fuel cell vehicles. The agreement will give Audi and other brands in Volkswagen Group access to parts that are based on Hyundai’s know-how accumulated from the development of the ix35 Fuel Cell utility and its successor, the Nexo.
The automakers have entered into a multi-year patent cross-licensing agreement, covering a broad range of fuel cell electric vehicle components and technologies, Hyundai said in a statement on Wednesday. The agreement covers and benefits both companies’ affiliates, including Kia and Audi’s parent company VW Group, Hyundai said. The duration of the agreement was not disclosed.
The partnership will leverage collective r&d capabilities in fuel cell technology to elevate their presence in the FCEV market. Audi development chief Peter Mertens said in the statement that cooperation is the smart way to achieve breakthroughs in fuel cell technology.
Audi is responsible for the development of fuel cell technology in the VW Group. The company will also be able to take full advantage of Hyundai’s fuel cell parts supply chain.
Hyundai’s Mobis parts-making arm last year opened a production system for core components of fuel cell vehicles in Chungju, South Korea. It has annual production capacity for 3,000 powertrain fuel cell complete modules. The modules are comprised of fuel stacks, drive motors, power electronic components and hydrogen fuel supply units. Mobis plans to increase plant’s capacity to tens of thousands of modules in the future, depending on market demand.
