Hyundai’s pioneering hydrogen fuel-cell Santa Fe has come away with four medals at the Michelin Bibendum in California, a leading showcase for alternative fuelled vehicles.

The Santa Fe FCEV came away with two golds and two silvers in the hotly contested event, which was the first ever competition for alternative fuelled vehicles in North America. It won the golds for emission and noise, and silvers for fuel efficiency and slalom performance.

Testing of the Santa Fe was done at the California Speedway in Fontana, with the assistance of the Hyundai America Technical Centre. Fuel cell vehicles were rated against commonly accepted standards of excellence applied to conventional engined vehicles and given grades ranging from A through D – these were then translated to medal ratings.

Chung Goo Lee, President of Worldwide Research and Development for Hyundai Motor Company, said: "We at Hyundai and the members of the California Fuel Cell Partnership have a lot to be proud of. We are exceptionally proud of our team and our partners for developing a vehicle that represents the technical expertise and spirit of innovation at Hyundai."

Power for the Hyundai Santa Fe FCEV comes from a 75-kilowatt fuel cell developed by International Fuel Cells. IFC is the sole provider of fuel cells for US manned space missions.

Another partner in the fuel-cell project is Quantum Technologies Worldwide, which has developed a hydrogen fuel tank that can be filled to 5,000 pounds per square inch, enabling the vehicle to go more than 100 miles in one fuelling.

As well as the hydrogen fuel-cell Santa Fe, undergoing trials in both California and South Korea, Hyundai also has an electric Santa Fe project in Hawaii.