Edison Motors blasts Hyundai for monopolizing hydrogen car components 

An executive at electric bus maker Edison Motors has criticized Hyundai Motor Company for monopolizing components used in hydrogen fuel cell cars.

Edison Motors director Lee Ho-young said at a local conference hosted by the the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers that the firm singed a hydrogen fuel cell stack supply deal with the South Korean car giant in 2019.

But it is yet to receive any supply of the components, Lee claimed.

The stack was developed by Hyundai Motor through a national project, the director said, which means large conglomerates and mid-sized companies must use them together for synergy. The stack is used to mix oxygen in the air with hydrogen, and a crucial component of hydrogen fuel cell cars.

Edison Motors also collaborate with China’s SAIC to manufacture hydrogen fuel cell electric buses in South Korea, but couldn’t reach an agreement with Hyundai Motor to various additional conditions, Lee said.

“It is a shame that Hyundai Motor is monopolizing hydrogen fuel cell stack supply when it is the sole supplier of the component,” the director added.

Earlier in March, to secure the technology need for core components, Edison Motors signed a collaboration agreement to develop battery technologies with VT GMP.

Lee also criticized the exclusive supply deals prevalent in the local car industry.

Edison Motors couldn’t receive supply of air conditioners in the early days due to this practice.

Without naming Hyundai, Lee said at the time, when an alternative supplier offered to supply the air conditioners instead, larger companies pressured that supplier that it it did so, it would lose future contracts.