Hyundai Motor Co. is establishing its first domestic hydrogen fuel cell production facility at its Ulsan factory complex, following an agreement between labor and management to repurpose an idle transmission plant site.
The new plant, scheduled to begin operations in 2028, will become the automaker’s second hydrogen fuel cell production base globally, following its Guangzhou, China facility. The Ulsan plant will have annual production capacity for fuel cells powering 6,500 hydrogen vehicles.
Hyundai’s planned facility will integrate both chemical processes for stack manufacturing and assembly processes for system production, enabling a streamlined one-stop approach to hydrogen fuel cell production and vehicle assembly.
The move builds on Hyundai’s existing hydrogen technology initiatives. In February 2024, the company absorbed the hydrogen fuel cell business from affiliate Hyundai Mobis. A month earlier, Hyundai unveiled its hydrogen value chain business brand “HTWO” at CES 2024, highlighting its approach to hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization.
The Ulsan plant development aligns with Hyundai’s strategy to expand hydrogen consumption to 3 million tons annually by 2035. The company also plans to launch “IniSiium,” the successor to its Nexo hydrogen vehicle, in the first half of 2025.
