IT SEEMS hydrogen fuel cell vehicles mightn’t just be about saving the environment.

Hyundai has expressed an interest in the strong performance potential of hydrogen fuel cell technology, with the boss of the company’s expanding N division, Albert Biermann, saying a hardcore, track-focused hydrogen car is a possibility.

Speaking to Wheels at the Detroit motor show, Biermann said his team is already exploring the performance potential of hydrogen drivetrains, though admitted the programme is still in its infancy.

Biermann says that while electric powertrains are the N division’s focus in the short term, hydrogen is a more logical alternative for the future.

Hyundai used this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to reveal its second-gen hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Nexo, and Biermann says the knowledge gained from Nexo will be valuable to any future performance variants.

“Now we’re into our second generation car; the powertrain is smaller, more efficient, and a little more powerful,” he said. “We have cars out there, but in pushing the performance right now we’re on the safe side and everything is easy on the durability side”.

Biermann says that while those power figures are at the low end of what’s possible, durability and longevity of the fuel cell must be taken into account.

“If you make a fuel cell for N, a lot more ions have to move across the border, through the membrane, so there’s much more traffic. So, how durable?” he said. “How long could that survive, those are the questions that have not been answered yet, but we will look into this.

BMW and Mazda have both explored hydrogen as an alternative fuel in the past, with BMW building a limited run hydrogen-propelled 7 Series in 2005-07. The V12 7 Series used a conventional combustion engine and high-pressure injectors to spray liquid hydrogen into the combustion chambers.