Hyundai Motor Group has invested further towards its goal of bringing hydrogen fuel cell technology to the fore with a new fuel cell system plant in China’s Guangdong Province.
In December 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced its long-term roadmap, ‘Fuel Cell Vision 2030’, to reaffirm its commitment to accelerate the development of a hydrogen society by leveraging its global leadership in fuel cell technologies. As part of this plan, the Group aims to produce 700,000 fuel cells annually to meet demand from various industry sectors. Meanwhile, China’s ambition to foster a hydrogen economy aims to have one million FCEVs on its roads by 2035 centering on commercial vehicles.
To help achieve this, Hyundai Motor Group announced that it signed an investment contract with the government of Guangdong Province to establish an offshore fuel cell system production facility in Guangzhou, China. The investment advances the Group’s global hydrogen leadership and supports its push into China’s rapidly developing hydrogen industry.
The Guangzhou plant’s construction is scheduled to begin next month and will be completed by the second half of 2022. The plant will be the Group’s first fuel cell production base outside of Korea and will leverage the Hyundai’s extensive expertise in fuel cell system production with the initial capacity to produce 6,500 units of fuel cell systems per year. Hyundai will gradually increase the capacity in line with market demand.
Hyundai Motor Group will also work with Chinese companies to participate in the Guangdong government’s hydrogen-related pilot project and initiatives, which will help Hyundai secure a competitive advantage in China’s hydrogen industry. Global companies from Japan, Germany, the UK and other countries have also been working with the Chinese partners to develop technology related to fuel cell vehicles and to advance the local hydrogen industry.
