President Moon visits hydrogen charging station in France in Hyundai’s Nexo

South Korean President Moon Jae-in waves his hand riding in Hyundai Motor`s hydrogen fuel cell car Nexo in Paris. [Photo provided by Blue House]

South Korean President Moon Jae-in made time during his state visit to France for a drive on Hyundai Motor Co.’s hydrogen-powered sport utility vehicle Nexo on Sunday (local time) in the streets of Paris in show of support for the local automaker’s fuel cell campaign at home and abroad.

He rode on Nexo - the second all-hydrogen vehicle Hyundai Motor shipped to France - to Alma Square and watched a Tucson hydrogen taxi refueling with hydrogen. It took just three minutes to fully recharge the car, just a tenth of the time needed to fully charge an electric car. The station was set up by Air Liquide, a French industrial gas supplier.

The carmaker shipped its Tucson hydrogen fuel-cell cars to France in 2015 and recently exported Nexo as well. Paris-based electric taxi startup STEP operates 62 Tucson fuel cell taxis in the city, up from five in 2016.

Hydrogen that used to power spaceships and rockets is being adopted more widely for ground vehicles as they can be sourced from renewables. Because of the complicated production process and cost, most carmakers have shunned the project as fossil fuel alternatives. Currently, fuel cell vehicles are provided by Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda. Hyundai has gone all out to develop fuel cell vehicle in its green fleet, and the government also supports the clean policy in line with future mobility and cleaner fuel campaign.

Moon vowed full support for hydrogen and electric vehicle to ensure Korean leadership in the automobile sector.

Hyundai Motor on Tuesday will sign a memorandum of understanding with Air Liquide and French energy firm Engie to expand infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles in France. It said it aims to supply total 5,000 hydrogen-powered passenger cars, buses, and trucks by 2025.

Moon, who arrived in Paris on Saturday for his nine-day trip to Europe, met French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday. After the four-day trip in France, he will move to Rome, the Vatican, Belgium, and Denmark.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]