Hyundai Motor Company plans to build a hydrogen fuel cell plant in South Korea, a source close to the company revealed this week, as the automaker continues its efforts to expand the use of hydrogen as an automotive fuel. This will be Hyundai’s second fuel cell manufacturing plant globally, following its existing plant in Guangzhou, China, which has a production capacity of 6,500 fuel cell systems annually.
The new facility will be built on the site of a redundant gearbox and clutch plant within Hyundai’s Ulsan manufacturing complex in the south-east of the country and is scheduled to be completed in 2028. It will include chemical process facilities for the production of fuel stacks and fuel cell system assembly operations.
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Hyundai’s Ulsan complex has an overall production capacity of 1.4 million vehicles annually, split between five plants, making 17 individual models including EVs such as Kona EV and Ioniq 5, the hydrogen-powered Nexo, and a wide range of Hyundai- and Genesis-branded passenger vehicles models.
Hyundai is currently preparing to launch the successor to its Nexo, the “IniSiium”, later this year. The company also produces a hydrogen fuel cell heavy truck, the Xcient.
Last year, Hyundai took over the hydrogen fuel cell operations of its main component supplier Hyundai Mobis Company, consolidating and streamlining the group’s hydrogen technology development operations. The automaker also launched the “HTWO” hydrogen value chain brand last year.
