GALLERY: Hyundai and students make a fuel cell fashion statement

Hyundai tasked the students with creating a ‘mobile marketing campaign’, communicating the benefits of Hyundai’s zero-emission ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle. Students designed 2D visuals and the winning entries were applied to the vehicles for the marketing drive.

The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell emits only water vapour as the fuel cell stack converts hydrogen into electricity. Hyundai believes fuel cell vehicles have the potential to challenge conventionally-powered cars due to their usable range and short refuelling times. The car can be refuelled in a few minutes and accelerates from 0-62mph in 12.5 seconds.

The winning design went to first year BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Realisation student Ilona Spruge and the vehicle it was applied to has been transported to Hyundai’s European Head Office in Frankfurt. She will receive an award from Hyundai UK’s President and CEO Tony Whitehorn at a presentation in Shoreditch on June 25.

Production challenges

This is not the first campaign to try and promote hydrogen fuel cell cars; in May Honda launched its own bottled water brand to demonstrate the purity of emissions released from its FCX car range, which utilises hydrogen fuel technology. The only emission from its exhaust is clean water which it has bottled to create H2O, a car-fuelled water brand. (http://www.edie.net/news/4/Honda-creates-own-water-brand-fuelled-by-hydrogen-emissions/ )

However, while the technology that runs hydrogen fuel cars is incredibly clean and produces no CO2 emissions, as it relies on the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to run the electric motor, mass production remains some way off. While there are renewable methods, such as using wind or solar energy to power electrolysis of water, most hydrogen production relies on fossil fuels, such as in the USA where 95% of hydrogen is produced using natural gas.

In spite of the challenges, Hyundai UK’s President and CEO Tony Whitehorn praised the winners and highlighted the potential of hydrogen fuel cell technology, “this project will allow students to showcase their work around London over the coming weeks and help raise awareness of technology that could genuinely change the world in which we live. 

GALLERY: LCFxHyundai ‘Fashioned Fuel Cell’ competition

<span>LCFxHyundai ‘Fashioned Fuel Cell’</span><span>Take a look at the winning designs of the world’s first production fuel cell car, from students at the London College of Fashion.</span><span>Seven students had their work chosen to be applied to the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell</span><span>height</span><span> 657</span><span>width</span><span> 1000</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop CS6 </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>The Fashioned Fuel Cell competition received 159 entrants from students at the London College of Fashion</span><span>height</span><span> 697</span><span>width</span><span> 1000</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop CS6 </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>The ix35 Fuel Cell has a top speed of 100mph, can travel up to 370 miles on a single tank and has an output of 100kW</span><span>height</span><span> 626</span><span>width</span><span> 1000</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop CS6 </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span><span>The vehicle is the result of 14 years and several hundred million euros of research by engineers at the Hyundai Eco Technology Research Institute in Korea</span><span>height</span><span> 678</span><span>width</span><span> 1000</span><span>orientation</span><span> 1</span><span>camerasoftware</span><span> Adobe Photoshop CS6 </span><span>originaldate</span><span> 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AM</span>

Matt Field