Is the Land Rover Defender about to get a hydrogen-powered rival? Hyundai and Ineos team up to promote fuel cell tech

Old fashioned off-roading is set to meet 21st century technology.

Hyundai has announced a partnership with chemical-company-turned-car-maker Ineos to “explore new opportunities to accelerate” the use of hydrogen both within the automotive industry and the wider community.

The centrepiece of the new deal will be the possible use of Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell powertrain from the Nexo in the new Ineos Grenadier. The FCEV option would join the BMW-sourced petrol and diesel engines that are set to power the upcoming Land Rover Defender and Mercedes G-Wagen rival.

The decision to partner with Ineos is important because while it may be new to building cars, Ineos is already one of the world’s largest chemical companies and already produces 300,000 tons of hydrogen each year as a by-product of its manufacturing. It also has a subsidiary, Inovyn, that is Europe’s largest electrolysis operator, a technology that is able to use renewable energy to produce hydrogen.

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So the company is looking to harness this hydrogen and use it to help reach its goals of becoming carbon neutral.

“Ineos’ move into the development of a fuel cell electric vehicle and hydrogen ecosystem marks yet another milestone towards sustainable and clean transportation,” said Saehoon Kim, Head of Fuel Cell Center for Hyundai. “Hyundai believes this will provide an important low-carbon option across a wide range of sectors. We also hope our decades-long expertise in hydrogen fuel cell work in synergy with Ineos’ expertise in field of chemistry to realize the mass production of green hydrogen and fuel cells for the Grenadier.”

Ineos Automotive has already announced plans to offer the Grenadier in Australia by 2022. That will most likely be with the petrol and diesel models, with the FCEV to follow after that - assuming the testing is successful.