Hyundai Motor establishes Energy Hydrogen Unit

Hyundai Motor establishes Energy Hydrogen Unit. March. 29, 2025 07:13. by 한종호 hjh@donga.com.
As hydrogen gains attention as an eco-friendly energy source that can replace fossil fuels, Hyundai Motor Company has stepped up efforts to take the lead in the hydrogen energy market.

According to the automobile industry on Friday, Hyundai Motor Company has designated 2025 as the inaugural year of its hydrogen business expansion and is driving the initiative in earnest. At the 57th annual general meeting of shareholders held on March 20 at the EL Tower in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Hyundai Motor passed an agenda item to add the hydrogen business to the business purpose of its articles of incorporation. The company plans to speed up business expansion across the entire hydrogen ecosystem, including research and development of hydrogen electric vehicles as well as hydrogen production, storage, and transportation. Recently, Hyundai also established the Energy Hydrogen Business Division under the Planning & Coordination Office, which is overseen by Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon, effectively creating a control tower organization to oversee the group's hydrogen business.

Hyundai Motor's moves in the hydrogen business reflect its persistent commitment to hydrogen over the past 27 years. The company established a dedicated hydrogen research and development organization in 1998 and has since led the way in hydrogen technology. In 2013, Hyundai became the first company in the world to mass-produce hydrogen electric vehicles with the launch of the 'Tucson ix Fuel Cell,' followed by the release of the 'NEXO' in 2018. NEXO has since surpassed forty thousand units in cumulative global sales, securing the top market share in the passenger hydrogen vehicle segment.

Hyundai Motor plans to unveil a successor model to the NEXO in the first half of this year, approximately six months after presenting the concept car 'INITIUM' in October last year. "The reason Hyundai has been able to pursue this challenge and make decisive moves over the past 27 years without wavering is because of our unwavering belief in the value of hydrogen," Vice Chairman Chang remarked at the time of the INITIUM reveal. "Hydrogen is not only a clean energy source for future generations but also an accessible and therefore equitable energy."

As Hyundai Motor accelerates its hydrogen-related business, its hydrogen fuel cell system brand 'HTWO' is also gaining momentum. The company is starting to see tangible results overseas as well. Hyundai's first overseas hydrogen fuel cell system production subsidiary, HTWO Guangzhou, recently delivered one hundred ninety 4.5-ton hydrogen fuel cell refrigerated trucks to Guangzhou Development District Transportation Investment Group. This is the largest single order for hydrogen fuel cell refrigerated trucks in China to date.