Hyundai Mobis has announced a US$1.1 billion (NZ$1.58b) investment in two new hydrogen fuel cell plants in South Korea.
The plants at Incheon, just west of Seoul, and Ulsan will begin production in the second half of 2023 with an annual capacity of 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell systems.
It will help Hyundai Mobis diversify business and tap into construction machinery and logistics equipment.
Hyundai Mobis held a ground-breaking ceremony for the new plant that will produce hydrogen fuel cell stacks at the industrial complex in Cheongna International City, Incheon, attended by president Moon Jae-in and deputy prime minister Hong Nam-ki.
When fully operational, the facilities are expected to produce 100,000 hydrogen fuel cells annually.
Hyundai Mobis will operate three fuel cells plants, in 2018 becoming the world’s first to set up a complete production system from fuel cell stack to rest of electronic components in Chungju which can produce about 23,000 hydrogen cell systems annually.
“In spite of 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,” Hyundai Mobis president and chief executive Sung Hwan Cho says.
“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.”
With the completion of the new plants, Hyundai Mobis plans to expand its production line-ups 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.
Last year, Hyundai Mobis developed fuel cell power packs for hydrogen forklifts, opening up the possibility for entry into the construction machinery sector.
The hydrogen 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-fuelled excavators and plans to enlarge the fuel cell systems for small air mobility.
Hyundai Mobis employs more than 30,000 people worldwide.
Hyundai has already delivered its first 10 units of the Xcient fuel cell truck to commercial fleet customers in Switzerland and plans to deliver 1600 units there by 2025 as well as deliveries to other parts of the world, including New Zealand.
