Hyundai breaks ground for fuel cell plant in Guangzhou

An artist's illustration of Hyundai Motor Group's HTWO Guangzhou hydrogen fuel cell plant in Guangzhou, China / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

By Nam Hyun-woo

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it broke ground for a fuel cell plant in Guangzhou, China, marking the group's first overseas manufacturing facility dedicated to hydrogen fuel cell systems.

According to the automotive conglomerate, it held an online “groundbreaking” ceremony for HWTO Guangzhou. The ceremony was participated in by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, Guangdong Province Secretary Li Xi, Guangdong Province Governor Ma Xingrui and Consul General of Korea in Guangzhou Hong Sung-wook.

With the goal of completion in the second half of 2022, HTWO Guangzhou will occupy a 207,000-square-meter site in Guangzhou and will be comprised of a fuel cell system plant and an R&D facility. The facility will produce 6,500 fuel cells annually, and will be subject to further expansion depending on the local market circumstances and government policies.

Hyundai Motor Group signed an MOU with the Guangdong provincial government in December 2019 for the establishment of HTWO Guangzhou. After spending a year on market research and location selection, the group signed an investment deal in January this year. Hyundai Motor Group will fully own HTWO Guangzhou.

“Based on our world-leading technologies and hydrogen expertise, Hyundai Motor Group will strengthen partnerships with Chinese partners to lead clean mobility innovations,” Chung said during the ceremony. “With both countries' support, the business will be able to provide greater opportunities with clean and eco-friendly infrastructure.”

The partnership came amid a positive outlook for the Chinese hydrogen market. Last October, the China Society of Automotive Engineers, which is an advisory group to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, suggested the Chinese market would have more than 1 million hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles by 2035.

To preemptively occupy the global hydrogen market, Hyundai Motor Group has been striving to expand its hydrogen businesses under Chung's leadership. The group will complete its second hydrogen fuel cell plant in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, next year, raising its domestic hydrogen fuel cell capacity to 40,000. The group seeks to produce more than 500,000 fuel cells annually by 2030.