Hyundai aims for hydrogen systems, from production to vehicles

LAS VEGAS -- Hyundai Motor Group is embarking on a wide-ranging strategy for hydrogen production, storage, transportation and utilization to achieve carbon neutrality across numerous affiliated businesses — including steel making — by midcentury, the company announced at CES today.

The group is looking to produce hydrogen from animal waste and from plastics. It's developing lower-cost electrolyzers to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The automaker plans to deploy Xcient heavy-duty fuel cell trucks in Oakland, Calif., and around its electric vehicle assembly plant near Savannah, Ga. And it aims to participate in the U.S. government's hydrogen hub program for infrastructure development. And it plans to show a redesigned Nexo fuel-cell vehicle in 2025.

Hydrogen is key to Hyundai Motor Group's RE100 targets of using only renewable energy in overseas factories by 2045 and in every group entity by 2050. Hyundai says it was the first mass producer of fuel cell EVs and is the top seller of hydrogen-powered vehicles. Under the HTWO brand — a play on the abbreviation for the hydrogen molecule — which now encompasses all of its hydrogen efforts, the company aims to eliminate 3 million tons of carbon emissions per year by 2035.

“At Hyundai, we start by putting a human face on everything we do. We believe that science and humanity are two sides of the same coin – that advanced technology should always make people's lives better," Jay Chang, CEO of Hyundai Motor Co., said in a news conference. “It follows our vision of achieving progress for humanity. That’s what drives us to develop and promote hydrogen: to reduce carbon emissions for clean energy, also to deliver the carbon-free energy to the world we all live in.”

Hyundai announced its hydrogen vision as it also laid out ambitious plans for software-defined vehicles and artificial intelligence. Ultimately, the company foresees a transportation system and infrastructure that is software-defined, connected and continuously learning to improve efficiency.

"We measure progress with the real and positive impact it has on humanity," José Muñoz, global COO of Hyundai Motor Co., said in the statement. "Our theme for CES 2024, 'Ease every way,' is a monumental challenge. But the challenging spirit embedded in the DNA of our 56-year history will continue through the hydrogen and software transformations we've unveiled today."

"Resource circulation" is how Hyundai describes its plans to turn waste into hydrogen. One method involves fermenting organic waste — such as food, sludge and livestock manure — to generate biogas that is then treated to capture carbon dioxide and produce hydrogen. Another involves melting waste plastics that cannot be recycled, gasifying the molten plastics and removing unnecessary elements to produce hydrogen.

A waste-to-hydrogen system is being planned for Indonesia, the company said.

Despite the steps to expand hydrogen production, Executive Chairman Euisun Chung said the company is not taking its focus off of the vehicles.

“We cannot cover everything,” he said.