Hyundai Motor Group and Rolls-Royce have joined forces to develop an air vehicle that will use a hydrogen fuel cell power plant. The companies decided to use Rolls-Royce’s expertise in aviation and Hyundai’s developments in engines with alternative power sources. The fruit of their collaboration is a hydrogen plane that should be ready by 2025.
Hyundai says British colleagues will help accelerate the development and adaptation of hydrogen engines for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft. Ideally, this will enable global aviation to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
This alliance also foresees, in the not too distant future (2025) the construction of drone motors that will be used in the transport of passengers based on Hyundai Air Mobility platforms. If these “flying machines” seem for now only a visionary concept rather than an aircraft that will never be mass-produced, surely the development of hydrogen engines could allow Hyundai to soon be able to adapt them to their cars. This would give the Korean company a potential advantage over all competitors now much more focused on the production of electric cars and more reluctant to find alternatives to combustion engines.