Will Hyundai fuel cell buses accelerate hydrogen mobility?
Hyundai Motor Group is pushing ahead with hydrogen buses as a core pillar of its mobility strategy, betting that commercial fleets will give the technology a clearer path to scale than passenger cars.
Despite high costs and slow global infrastructure rollout, experts say buses are better suited to showcase hydrogen’s advantages, especially for heavy loads and long-distance operation.
While hydrogen is viewed as a potential replacement for diesel in commercial transport, high prices and the sluggish development of global demand remain major hurdles to wider adoption.
Push on bus gains momentum
Hyundai Motor Group signed a partnership last Friday with K1, one of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province’s largest public bus operators, to replace its 300-bus fleet with Hyundai’s Universe fuel-cell model by 2030.
The 12-meter bus, equipped with up to 41 kilograms of hydrogen, can travel 960.4 kilometers on a single charge while emitting only water.
In October, Hyundai also partnered with Korea’s KGM Commercial to develop KGM’s hydrogen bus, while hinting that Hyundai’s own hydrogen buses could potentially be exported to Japan.
An industrial source, said:
In terms of sales, Nexo — Hyundai’s only hydrogen passenger car model — outsells all others,
“But Hyundai is pursuing a two-track strategy, with both passenger and commercial vehicles playing key roles.”
While many global automakers are scaling back hydrogen projects, saying it has a long way to go before becoming profitable, the rest of the industry is increasingly shifting its hydrogen focus toward commercial applications such as buses.
China’s rapid fuel-cell deployment is driven mainly by commercial vehicles, while Toyota is developing a third-generation fuel-cell system designed to “meet the needs of the commercial sector.”
Hyundai has led the hydrogen passenger segment, selling about 4,000 units of the new Nexo since its June launch, as of October. However, the high costs of hydrogen fuel and a lack of charging infrastructure remain significant obstacles for hydrogen passenger vehicles not only in Korea, but also overseas.
Kim Pil-su, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University, said:
It takes over two billion won ($1.36 million) just to construct a hydrogen charging station,
“Since most stations have no choice but to rely on government funding, expanding the network remains a challenge.”
Advantage of buses
Industry insiders say buses are relatively free from one of the major obstacles facing hydrogen mobility: the lack of refueling infrastructure.
An industry official, said:
Because buses generally travel fixed routes and their depots are located away from residential areas — where installing refueling facilities is easier — they have fewer challenges accessing hydrogen compared with passenger cars
Shorter fueling times and longer drive ranges are also pointed to as strong advantages of fuel cell buses compared to electric buses, their rival green transportation solution.
Electric buses running in Seoul can travel around 400 kilometers on a single charge, far less than Hyundai’s Universe bus and Hyundai’s first fuel-cell electric bus model, the Hyundai Elec City FCEV, which can reach 550 kilometers.
Lee Ho-geun, an auto engineering professor at Daeduk University, said:
Even when covering the same distance, battery-powered buses require several hours to recharge, whereas fuel-cell buses need only 20 to 30 minutes,
Price remains a key challenge
Lee, of Daeduk University, said:
Korea has outstanding technology in fuel-cell buses, but it lacks meaningful price competitiveness,
“Ultimately, how many get sold will come down to subsidies.”
A fuel-cell bus costs more than 700 million won — roughly four times the price of a diesel bus and more than twice that of an electric model. Fuel costs are also higher, and Korea has yet to establish a stable green-hydrogen supply chain.
The high price tag has slowed government adoption. Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jeung noted that the Korea National Police Agency has secured only 16 hydrogen buses over the past decade, far short of its original plan to procure 802 units in partnership with Hyundai.
Experts say wider global uptake will require Korea and Hyundai to help build supply chains overseas.
Lee said,
If countries lack the capability to produce on their own, they won’t commit public money to support hydrogen buses,
“Korea must find ways — through technology or jobs — to help those markets open.”
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Will Hyundai fuel cell buses accelerate hydrogen mobility?, source
