(October 10, 2021) INCHEON, Incheon, Korea — Hyundai is moving full speed ahead worldwide to advance the use of hydrogen fuel cells to power electric vehicles. To this end, Hyundai Mobis has announced it will build two new fuel cell plants in Korea to accelerate the hydrogen economy and to secure broader global market dominance. Hyundai Mobis announced it would invest  $1.1 billion in the two plants.
                       
The new plants will start mass production in the second half of 2023. When fully operational, the facilities are expected to produce 100,000 hydrogen fuel cells every yeaHyundai Mobis, with the largest fuel cell production capacity in the world, is expected to gain even greater momentum in the global race for hydrogen mobility with the addition of new production locations.

Once they are completed, Hyundai Mobis will operate a total of three fuel cells plants. In 2018, the company became the world’s first to set up a complete production system from fuel cell stack to rest of electronic components in Chungju. The Chungju plant is capable of producing approximately 23,000 hydrogen cell systems a year.

“Despite uncertainties including COVID-19, we have decided to make this large-scale investment to secure the market-leading competitiveness in the global fuel cell industry. We will continue to invest more in facilities and strengthen our R&D capability for the development of the hydrogen industry and expand the ecosystem,” said Sung Hwan Cho, president and CEO of Hyundai Mobis.

With the completion of the new plants, Hyundai Mobis plans to expand its production lineups that applies fuel cell systems and diversify hydrogen business. Most fuel cell systems produced by Hyundai Mobis are used in fuel cell EVs but the company is expected to scale its business to other sectors such as construction machinery and logistics equipment.

Last year, Hyundai Mobis developed fuel cell power packs that go into hydrogen forklifts, opening up the possibility for entry into the construction machinery sector. The hydrogen power packs used forklifts are generators that produce electricity on their own by combining a fuel cell stack, a hydrogen tank, and a cooling device.

Now the company is developing power packs for hydrogen-fueled excavator and plans to enlarge the fuel cell systems for small air mobility.

Meanwhile, in celebration of National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day for 2021, Hyundai Motor North America has joined Equilon Enterprises LLC (Shell Oil Products US), also referred to as Shell Hydrogen, to encourage growth of the hydrogen refueling infrastructure in California.

The agreement, known as Project Neptune, supports Shell Hydrogen’s construction of 48 additional and two upgraded hydrogen refueling stations across the eco-leading Golden State beginning in 2021. In its portion of the agreement, Hyundai has committed to fuel cell vehicle sales growth supporting the expanding hydrogen infrastructure.

“We’re proud to join Shell Hydrogen’s ‘Project Neptune,’ expanding California’s hydrogen infrastructure to meet increasing consumer demand for clean, zero-emission transportation solutions. Hyundai offers a superb fuel cell vehicle in its NEXO SUV, and this effort will help ensure that every eco-focused fuel cell driver has convenient refueling options wherever they choose to go,” said Olabisi Boyle, vice president of Product Planning and Mobility Strategy, Hyundai Motor North America.

Hyundai says hydrogen refueling infrastructure growth is critical to rapidly increase consumer adoption of zero-emission fuel cell vehicles. By joining Project Neptune, Hyundai reinforces its commitment to fuel cell technologies and their positive impact on the environment, a key pillar of its long-range strategic vision. The new hydrogen stations will be partially funded by public funds from the California Energy Commission (CEC). Two other fuel cell vehicle manufacturers have also joined the consortium with respective agreements for fuel cell vehicle sales to support infrastructure growth.