Hyundai Mobis , South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group’s auto parts subsidiary, unveiled on August 20 that it would spend USD1.1bn to build hydrogen fuel cell production facilities in Incheon and Ulsan, according to The Korea Economics Daily on the same day. The plant in Incheon would focus on producing hydrogen fuel cell stacks that consist of hundreds of fuel cell units. Then, the Ulsan plant would further process the stacks to make fuel cell systems, equipped on Hyundai’s fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) Nexo and truck XCIENT. The annual output of the two plants is expected to support about 6,000 vehicles. This project would be Hyundai’s largest single investment in hydrogen so far, with the long-term goal of establishing a full-fledged hydrogen value chain.

According to its roadmap, Hyundai Motor Group would invest approximately USD6.4bn in R&D and facility expansion with its suppliers and would produce more than 700,000 fuel cells annually by 2030. Hyundai estimated that the number of FCEVs worldwide would reach 2m at that time and the group’s annual production capacity would maintain around 500,000 units. To achieve the targets, Hyundai is hurrying to build factories all around the world. For instance, this January, Hyundai announced to set up its first foreign hydrogen fuel cell factory in Guangzhou, China. The construction had started this February and is expected to be completed in late 2022, costing USD1bn.

Among Asian carmakers, Hyundai is not the only explorer in the hydrogen sector. Japanese automaker Toyota announced its partnership with Chevron in April to jointly expand their hydrogen businesses and develop hydrogen infrastructure. The two firms’ common goal was seeking more possibilities in FCEVs and achieve a functional, thriving global hydrogen economy. Chinese car manufacturer FAW Haima Automobile disclosed in August that it had developed the first prototype of a hydrogen-fueled car and would mass produce the car in recent years with a target number of 2000 cars in operations by 2025.

Sources:

https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202108200010

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyundai-motor-group-reveals-fcev-vision-2030-300763580.html

https://www.ft.com/content/a390ad28-03d5-4283-a9f3-550c5a7fc04f

https://www.chevron.com/stories/chevron-toyota-pursue-strategic-alliance-on-hydrogen

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