Hydrogen Car Era Approaches... Focus on Infrastructure Development to Secure Next-Generation Leadership

Hyundai Motor's Global Hydrogen Vehicle Market Share at 69%... Sales Three Times Higher than 'Toyota + Honda'
Focus on New Vehicle Development and Ecosystem Formation
Hydrogen Alliance Formed with 11 Companies
Hydrogen Infrastructure Investments Underway Worldwide
Domestic Charging Stations and Infrastructure Must Be Accelerated

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hyundai Motor Group has emerged as a leading company in the hydrogen mobility market through over 20 years of relentless development and investment in hydrogen fuel cells. While Hyundai Motor Group plans to make large-scale investments in the hydrogen industry to solidify its leading position, experts warn that the completion of Korea's hydrogen infrastructure could determine Hyundai's competitive edge.

◇Leap from a technological desert to a global top-tier hydrogen business＝ According to energy market research firm SNE Research, Hyundai's global hydrogen vehicle market share last year was 69%, an increase of 24.7 percentage points compared to the previous year. Even combined sales of Japan's Toyota and Honda are less than one-third of Hyundai's. This achievement was possible due to continuous research and development (R&D) over the past 20 years. Hyundai developed a 100 kW-class transportation fuel cell stack in 2007 and succeeded in mass-producing the Tucson hydrogen electric vehicle, the world's first, in 2013. In 2018, Hyundai launched the Nexo hydrogen electric vehicle and became the first in the world to mass-produce the large hydrogen electric truck, the Xcient.

Hyundai did not stop there and directly engaged in building a global hydrogen ecosystem. In November 2018, Hyundai announced the Hydrogen Car (FCEV) 2030 roadmap, which includes investing 7.6 trillion KRW by 2030 to establish a production system capable of manufacturing 500,000 hydrogen electric vehicles annually and supplying fuel cell systems to competing automakers, ships, and railways. Hyundai also took the chairmanship of the Hydrogen Council launched at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, and this year formed the 'Hydrogen Forward' alliance with 11 global companies including Air Liquide, Bloom Energy, and Chart Industries. Anticipating the expansion of the Chinese hydrogen vehicle market, Hyundai established a hydrogen fuel cell system production base in Guangzhou and is working with major Korean companies such as SK, POSCO, Hanwha, and Hyosung to build a domestic hydrogen ecosystem.

◇Top-tier in a hydrogen society?… The key is the speed of hydrogen infrastructure development＝ Kim Se-hoon, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor, who has long advocated for capturing both the electric vehicle and hydrogen vehicle markets, said, "For carbon neutrality, battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells must replace current internal combustion engine vehicles, and due to the characteristics of these two power sources, coexistence is inevitable. Automakers need to possess both technologies to be competitive in the future." He explained that electric vehicles are more cost-effective for relatively short distances compared to hydrogen electric vehicles, while hydrogen electric vehicles offer higher performance in terms of output, energy density, and charging time, making the two complementary.

Vice Chairman Kim pointed out that although Hyundai possesses both technologies, to maintain the world No. 1 position when a hydrogen society arrives, Korea must accelerate the development of its hydrogen infrastructure. He diagnosed, "For true 'carbon neutrality' in the future, the production of green hydrogen must become widespread, but Korea has a very unfavorable environment for meeting total energy demand using renewable energy such as solar and wind power." As major countries are introducing hydrogen-related policies and entering a hydrogen society, Korea, which is relatively disadvantaged environmentally, must rapidly build a hydrogen ecosystem. The European Union (EU) has set a strategy to lead the hydrogen society by investing 470 billion euros (about 623 trillion KRW) over 10 years in the hydrogen economy and is implementing it. Germany, the most proactive in eco-friendliness, plans to invest about 12 trillion KRW by 2030 through its national hydrogen strategy. Japan, having officially declared a hydrogen economy transition in 2014, is pushing to build 900 hydrogen refueling stations and supply 5.3 million fuel cell generators by 2030. China also plans to distribute 1 million hydrogen vehicles and install 1,000 refueling stations by 2030.

Domestically, Hyundai, SK, POSCO, Hanwha, Hyosung, and other major Korean companies have announced plans to invest a total of 43 trillion KRW by 2030. The government also plans to allocate 824.4 billion KRW this year for the hydrogen economy, including hydrogen vehicles, production bases, and fuel cells. Vice Chairman Kim said, "Currently, Korea is implementing hydrogen-related policies well," but also expressed concern, "I worry whether we can lead the hydrogen society when major countries fully enter it." He added, "A hydrogen society can only be realized when the entire hydrogen value chain?from production, storage, transportation, to utilization?is prepared."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.