Hyundai is planning a new hydrogen fuel-cell SUV. This time instead of the oddball Nexo, Hyundai is going to give its FCEV some character.

The Hyundai Initium gets a new design language that looks retro, rugged, and futuristic all at the same time. The Korean automaker calls it “Art of Steel.”

Better Fuel Cell = New Model to Show It Off

The Initium — Latin for “beginning” — is a preview of a fuel-cell model that will go on sale in the first half of 2025. Despite being that close to production, Hyundai was short on details about what it has planned for this model.

It did say that the target was for a driving range of more than 400 miles. Large hydrogen tanks would hold enough of the compressed gas to deliver that range.

A new third-generation fuel-cell stack, where hydrogen mixes with oxygen from the air to create electricity, delivers more output than Hyundai’s last. It lets the Initium make 201 horsepower, a significant boost over the 160 horsepower of the Nexo it should replace.

The Initium can also use its electricity to power things other than the car. It will let owners plug into a 220V household outlet, helping to act as an emergency generator during a power failure or to power electric appliances and devices when you’re away from home or at the campsite.

Easing Hydrogen Fueling Worries

Hydrogen is still tough to find, with only a handful of stations supplying the fuel for vehicles. The Initium gets a new route planner that Hyundai says will help.

Like the route planners available in most EVs, it will find you the best route that takes refilling into account. It will also have station status updates, which should solve a serious H2 filling headache: stations that are out of service or have multiple vehicles waiting.

Hyundai’s New Design Language

It’s the Art of Steel design that will have a bigger impact on the market than the fuel-cell system, though. We can expect Hyundai to develop more new vehicles that use these design cues and shapes.

The Initium uses Hyundai’s parametric pixels light signature, a familiar highlight of most of its current range that launched with the Ioniq 5 EV. Exposed steel at the rear and a front bumper its designer says looks like a hydrogen tank makes the Initium look tougher and more rugged than the soft crossover shape it replaces.

Our challenge began from the manufacturing stage, where we pushed the formability of steel to the extreme to create a form of art. With Initium, we’ve crafted a more SUV-like design that is both solid and safe, reflecting our dedication to our customers through ‘customer-centric design’

— Hyundai design boss SangYup Lee.

Hyundai Initium Availability

Hyundai will have the Initium on display at the LA Auto Show in November, as well as at Auto Guangzhou.

The production fuel cell model, which will likely have its detailing toned down versus this concept, will debut in the first half of 2025.