A Memorandum of Understanding signed between Hyundai Motor Group and Rolls-Royce Holdings, promises a sustainable future for air mobility. The companies are collaborating to develop propulsion systems for passenger drones that would run on electric and hydrogen fuel cell technologies. The collaboration aims to combine Rolls Royce’s expertise in aviation with Hyundai’s BEV and hydrogen fuel cell technology.
Not to confuse with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd., Rolls Royce Holdings has been an established player in the aviation industry and serves customers that comprise more than 400 airlines and leases in over 150 nations.
Jaiwon Shin, the President of Hyundai Motor Group said, “We are pleased to partner with Rolls-Royce to draw upon their aviation and certification expertise”. He further added that this would help fasten the development of hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion systems. According to him, this is the key technology that would help achieve the global aviation industry’s mission to achieve zero-emission air travel by 2050.
Hyundai Motor Group has been bringing in sustainable solutions in its products including the use of EV technologies. If we look at all its doing across its Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, and IONIQ marques, the thrust has been at using electric power. As hydrogen is being used as the fuel source in the propulsion systems that it plans to develop with Rolls-Royce Holdings, it will offer the benefits of electric propulsion (suppressed sound and low emissions) as well as long range.
Together, Hyundai and Rolls-Royce Holdings join a large and growing band of eVTOL developers that aim to come up with scalable, zero-emission technologies in the aviation industry.
