Hyundai Mobis to put up 2 new hydrogen fuel cell facilities in Korea

Hyundai Mobis announced that it will build two new fuel cell facilities in its home country Korea to fast-track the hydrogen economy and to secure broader global market dominance.

Recently, Hyundai Mobis had its groundbreaking rites at the Industrial Complex in Cheongna International City, Incheon. Once completed, the newest workshop will add to the similar structure in Chungju —with the company having a total of three plants that produce hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

In its statement, Hyundai Mobis said that the creation of the fuel cell facility will have a total investment of US$ 1.1 billion. To start its mass production by second half of 2023, the facilities are expected to produce 100,000 hydrogen fuel cells annually. In comparison, the Chungju plant is capable of producing approximately 23,000 hydrogen cell systems a year.

Claiming to have the largest fuel cell production capacity in the world, Hyundai Mobis is expected to further its lead in the global race for hydrogen mobility with the new production locations.

Hyundai Mobis President and Chief Executive Officer Sung Hwan Cho was quoted as saying, “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.”

Further, Hyundai Mobis is eyeing to expand its production lineup 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,” the statement claimed.

In 2020, Hyundai Mobis developed fuel cell power packs for hydrogen forklifts, opening up the possibility for entry into the construction machinery sector. These 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 excavators and plans to enlarge the fuel cell systems for small air mobility.

Photos from Hyundai

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