Major Carmaker Quietly Turns Back on Hydrogen

Kia has been quietly reducing its time, labour, and financial investment in hydrogen technologies.

Hydrogen, which can either be used as a replacement fuel in petrol or diesel engines or converted to electricity to power batteries and electric motors, has been touted as a potential alternative to electric cars.

For Kia – and its parent company Hyundai – hydrogen technology has been at the forefront of its development program for future models. However, that appears to have quietly ratcheted down.

“There’s still some development occurring in [hydrogen] fuel-cell technology, but the majority of [research and development] is focused on [electric vehicles],” Kia Australia CEO Damien Meredith told CarSauce.

“Hydrogen has got some great advantages, but it’s also got some great disadvantages – and it’s very difficult to get it out of the air and into a machine and into a car.”

In 2022, Kia said it expected to release its first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle by 2027, though it appears those plans may have changed in the years since.

“It’s a bit like VHS and Beta, isn’t it? Whilst Beta was better, VHS was more friendly – and I think that’s exactly the same with [electric vehicles] and hydrogen,” Mr Meredith explained.

The Kia Australia boss conceded the move away from hydrogen was driven by customer sentiment and technological limitations, with financial investment also playing a part.