(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yun-gu = Hyundai Motor Group emphasized the need for consistent government policy support and expansion of hydrogen use from the perspective of energy diversification for the continued growth of the hydrogen industry.
Hong Eun-hee, head of the Energy and Hydrogen Business Division (Vice President) of Hyundai Motor Group, said at the '2026 Korea-China Hydrogen Policy Forum' held at the Novotel Ambassador in Seoul on the 17th, "If technology development and consistent government support continue, fuel cell system, hydrogen production costs, and charging infrastructure costs can be lowered and a virtuous cycle can be created with more operators participating in the market."
Director Hong said, “Rather than evaluating only the short-term speed of diffusion, it is time to foster technology and markets together until stable supply and demand are formed.”
He also suggested that hydrogen should be evaluated not only as a mobility fuel but also as a resource that contributes to energy security and power system stability.
In particular, it was announced that the government and industry would reflect the challenges of the industrial field in the 2nd hydrogen economy implementation basic plan and hope that the government and industry would reaffirm their common goals through the Hydrogen Economy Committee.
Hyundai Motor Group is going beyond hydrogen mobility to build a hydrogen ecosystem that encompasses production, storage, transportation, and utilization.
Currently, we are preparing for mass production and sales of domestic polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis facilities, and the Boryeong and Buan facilities, each with a capacity of 1 MW (megawatt), are scheduled to be operated this year and next year.
In Saemangeum, a 200 MW water electrolysis plant linked to renewable energy is being promoted. Through this, the plan is to produce approximately 30,000 tons of clean hydrogen per year and secure the business performance necessary to enter the global market.
The hydrogen produced is planned to be used to operate a 50,000 GPU-class artificial intelligence (AI) data center, autonomous mobility, robotics, and Korea's first AI robot factory.
Director Hong emphasized the possibility of using hydrogen in the fields of long-distance large-scale logistics and urban transportation.
He introduced the case of operating hydrogen buses in Incheon and hydrogen trucks in the Port of Oakland, USA, and said, “Electrification is difficult due to the long driving distance and large payload,” and added, “It shows that hydrogen is the most suitable clean mobility solution for ports and long-distance logistics.”
At this forum held by the Korea Hydrogen Union, about 200 industry, academic, and research officials from both countries attended and discussed ways to expand the hydrogen electric vehicle market, build a regional hydrogen ecosystem, and expand the joint hydrogen value chain in Northeast Asia.
Yang Fuyuan, a professor at Tsinghua University, said, "The role of hydrogen is becoming important not only in industrial decarbonization, but also in responding to spatial mismatches between renewable energy resources and demand, output limitations, and long-term/seasonal storage problems. Hydrogen needs to be viewed not as an energy source that competes with renewable energy, but as a complementary infrastructure that increases the utilization of renewable energy and supports expansion of supply."
Liu Jianguo, a professor at North China Electric Power University, suggested that in order to increase the competitiveness of green hydrogen, it is necessary to secure not only production facilities but also stable industrial demand such as oil refining, chemicals, steelmaking, and ammonia.
Fang Haifeng, senior expert and deputy director of the China Automotive Technology Research Center, explained, "China's pilot city policy is not focused only on vehicle supply, but is being promoted in a way that fosters and manages the entire cycle, including hydrogen supply, core parts, and charging infrastructure."
He also said, “Through pilot projects, we have been specifying areas where the strengths of hydrogen electric vehicles can be demonstrated, such as medium-sized and large-sized commercial vehicles with long distances and high operating rates.”
Deputy Director Feng said that the number of hydrogen electric vehicles in China has exceeded 40,000, and 80% of them are concentrated in five cities. By vehicle type, trucks account for most, at 88%.
He explained that the Chinese government plans to lower the price of hydrogen below 25 yuan (about 5,000 won) per kg by 2030 through the hydrogen policy announced in March of this year and expand the number of hydrogen electric vehicles in possession to 100,000 units.
Hwang Yoon-joo, head of policy support at the Korea Hydrogen Union, emphasized, “Electrification should be given priority in areas where direct electrification is possible, but hydrogen needs to be evaluated from the perspective of total social costs, including system benefits such as energy security.”
