KIA RIO Hybrid

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Eco-Technology Research Centre

Opened in 2005, the Eco-Technology Research Centre is a unique establishment dedicated to spearheading the development of cleaner, greener future transportation. The ETRC is just one of five Kia R&D Centres around the world with

a global staff of more than 10,000 and annual operating budgets of approximately 3.0 billion Euros – between 5-to-6% of annual revenues.

The 7.5-acre facility at Yongin in Korea, is itself the embodiment of environmental awareness, with double-skinned walls to create a greenhouse effect in winter and natural ventilation in summer, plus a geo-thermal heat exchange system and an overall design which allows maximum use of natural light.

Inside, Yongin is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as a 700-bar hydrogen filling station, fuel-cell durability test stations, hot/cold test chambers, emissions reduction laboratories and a robotic car dismantling and recycling plant.

Yongin together with Namyang, was responsible for the creation of the ‘second generation’ Sportage Fuel-Cell vehicle (shown at the Paris Show in 2004) and overseeing the operation of the test fleet of vehicles in Korea and the USA. For this version of the Sportage, Kia’s researchers developed a new-style fuel cell that could operate efficiently in freezing conditions, down to -20°C.

Materials and Processes Research

While fuel-cell and hybrid vehicles offer realistic paths to eco-friendly future transport for some segments of the car market, the whole issue of climate-change is being addressed by Kia across a broad spread of diverse programmes aimed at protecting the environment and conserving non-renewable resources.

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