"Full-Scale Commercialization of Hydrogen Electric Vehicles in 2025"

Interview with Kim Sehun, Hyundai Motor Vice President and World's Leading Hydrogen Vehicle Expert

Sehoon Kim, Vice President and Head of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Division at Hyundai Motor Company

[Asia Economy Reporters Changhwan Lee, Gimin Lee] "In four years, the hydrogen industry will also achieve economies of scale."

As global powers and multinational companies are increasingly entering the future industry of the hydrogen economy, the world's top hydrogen technology expert has announced the full-scale opening of the hydrogen electric vehicle era that will lead the hydrogen society.

Sehoon Kim, Vice President and Head of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Division at Hyundai Motor Company, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 26th, "The full-scale commercialization period of hydrogen electric vehicles is expected to be around 2025, when economies of scale for hydrogen fuel cells are achieved."

Vice President Kim has served as the head of the fuel cell design team and the fuel cell development office at Hyundai Motor and currently oversees hydrogen fuel cell development. He is also a key figure leading Hyundai Motor Group's hydrogen technology, which ranks first in the world for hydrogen electric vehicles.

Vice President Kim's uncle is also known as an authority in domestic internal combustion engine vehicle research. This means that the best automotive experts in one family have been active across generations.

Vice President Kim explained, "For the hydrogen vehicle market to be activated, economies of scale must be achieved comparable to electric vehicles." He meant that the market size itself must grow through active technological development by companies and demand from customers to gain price advantages. He plans to continue research and development of hydrogen fuel cells to change the perception that hydrogen electric vehicles cannot compete with electric vehicles in terms of price competitiveness.

Vice President Kim stated, "Our goal is to secure economic feasibility compared to internal combustion engines," and added, "Furthermore, through this, I hope for a world where hydrogen fuel cell technology can be experienced in various fields beyond automobiles."

Hyundai Motor Expected to Apply Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology to Various Mobilities

In fact, Hyundai Motor is preparing for the hydrogen society by considering applying hydrogen fuel cells not only to hydrogen cars such as passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and special vehicles but also to all power sources.

Vice President Kim said, "We are working to apply it to various mobilities including trains, trams, and ships, and we believe it can also be applied beyond mobility to the power generation sector."

He especially mentioned, "In the case of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), we have hydrogen fuel cell technology that can be used as a power source," and added, "We also have technological know-how from the automotive industry such as control technology and mass production technology," expressing his ambition to lead the UAM market.

The industry expects hydrogen electric vehicle sales to grow rapidly. The Korea Eximbank Overseas Economic Research Institute forecasted that global hydrogen vehicle sales will exceed 200,000 units for the first time in 2025. This is due to major countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom setting goals to phase out internal combustion engines between 2030 and 2040 in line with the global eco-friendly trend.

He said, "To actually implement these plans, policy support and investment are needed across the entire value chain from hydrogen production, storage, transportation, to utilization, not just the automotive industry," and predicted, "In regions where specific strategies, plans, and corresponding investments are made, internal combustion engines can be sufficiently replaced by the relevant time."

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