The 15 ix35 Fuel Cell units are the first hydrogen-powered vehicles manufactured on a production line to be introduced in Europe.

The ix35 Fuel Cell produces no harmful tailpipe emissions – only water vapour – and so its use will help the city of Copenhagen achieve its aim of becoming carbon-neutral by 2025.

The ix35 Fuel Cell is equipped with a 100kW (136hp) electric motor, and can reach a maximum speed of 100mph (160km/h). Two hydrogen storage tanks, located between the vehicle's rear axle, with a total capacity of 5,64kg, enable the vehicle to travel a total of 369 miles (594km) on a single fuelling. Filling the storage hydrogen tanks to maximum capacity takes just a few minutes. 

The vehicles were handed over by Hyundai Motor Europe's president, Byung Kwon Rhim, during the opening ceremony of Denmark's first hydrogen refuelling station.

Mr Rhim said: ‘Hyundai Motor is committed to hydrogen as the fuel of the future for Europe. Delivering assembly-line produced ix35 Fuel Cell is evidence that we have a realistic solution to the region's sustainable mobility needs.’

Hyundai Motor is already participating in a wide range of initiatives to raise awareness of hydrogen's benefits as an automotive fuel; to support the drive for establishing a pan-European refuelling infrastructure; and to demonstrate the cars' real-world practicality to public and private organisations.

This includes providing EU policy-makers with access to ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles – via the EU Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) in Brussels. And, earlier this year, senior representatives from 100 European businesses learned about and tested the ix35 Fuel Cell at a Hyundai event in Berlin.