Jang Jae-hoon, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, repeatedly emphasized the need for investment and policy support to revitalize the hydrogen ecosystem, saying, “Hydrogen is energy for the near future, not a distant future.”
Vice Chairman Jang met with a reporter from the Seoul Economic Daily at the 'Hydrogen Committee Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Summit' event held in Seoul on the 2nd and said, “Global hydrogen investment has been increasing rapidly in the past year. At the end of the day, the key is investment,” he said.
Launched in 2017, the Hydrogen Committee is the world's only hydrogen-related global CEO-led council, and Hyundai Motor Company (005380) Group is in charge of a joint business with Linde in the UK. This is the first time a CEO summit has been held in Korea. This year, more than 200 people will attend, including CEOs and executives from approximately 100 member companies, as well as people from major countries such as Korea, Germany, and France.
Vice Chairman Zhang, co-chair of the Hydrogen Committee, led the event and emphasized hydrogen ecosystem leadership. Vice Chairman Jang said, “There is clearly an area where Korea is ahead in all cycles of hydrogen production, storage, distribution, and utilization,” and “it will be an opportunity to actively share and promote these aspects around the world.” He continued, “We are preparing a joint declaration (with member companies),” and “the most important thing is to create hydrogen with interest, starting with policy support in the near future, in terms of energy for the near future.”
It is reported that Vice Chairman Jang will also attend the 'World Hydrogen Expo (WHE) 2025', the world's largest hydrogen fair, to be held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the 4th to 7th. Hyundai Motor Group set up the largest booth for a single company at this fair.
Hyundai Motor Group is increasing its investment by making hydrogen one of its core new businesses in the future. Of the 125.2 trillion won invested in Korea from 2026 to 2030, 50 trillion won was allocated to hydrogen, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots. Ulsan is building Korea's first hydrogen fuel cell production base with the goal of completion in 2027. With a capacity to produce 30,000 aircraft per year, Hyundai Motor Group invests 930 billion won here alone.
