Plans to Build Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plant in China
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun will draw up a more detailed plan to promote the hydrogen business in China. A hydrogen mobility cluster linking the EU and China, the United States, Australia and Korea are taking shape under Chung’s leadership.
Hyundai Motor decided to build a hydrogen fuel cell system plant in Guangzhou, China, and received approval for technology export from the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in December 2020. This is a preliminary step toward mass-production of big hydrogen trucks in China in 2022.
As hydrogen fuel cell systems are classified as one of Korea’s core technologies, the Korean automaker needs government approval when establishing an overseas plant. The government endorsed Hyundai’s plan as the possibility of technology leakage is believed to be low and the construction of a production plant in China will expand the hydrogen electric vehicle market there.
Hyundai Motor plans to promote its hydrogen fuel cell battery business as one of the three major pillars for its future growth. It has launched a separate brand “HTWO” for its hydrogen fuel cells. It has also set the goal of selling 700,000 hydrogen fuel cell units in 2030.
The Chinese project has already begun to take shape. In November 2020, Hyundai Motor signed an MOU with Chinese companies to build a platform for hydrogen commercial vehicles in the Yangtze River Delta.
Industry watchers predict that hydrogen vehicles will receive more attention than electric vehicles in the commercial vehicle market. In order for electric trucks to secure mileage as high as that of conventional diesel trucks, their battery capacity must be greatly expanded, which in turn would prune cargo space and lower efficiency. Charging time will also be extended. On the other hand, hydrogen trucks have a shorter charging time, which is 10 to 30 percent of that for electric trucks, and a longer mileage. As commercial vehicles run on regular routes, charging infrastructure does not pose a serious problem for hydrogen trucks.
Hyundai Motor is reviewing a plan to transform its commercial vehicle plant in Sichuan, China into a hydrogen truck plant. The plan aims to produce hydrogen fuel cells at its Guangzhou plant and make hydrogen trucks at its Sichuan plant. The Korean automaker has set the goal of selling more than 27,000 hydrogen trucks in China by 2030.
Other hydrogen-related companies are investing in China one after another. Japan's Toyota established a research and development joint venture with Guangzhou Automotive Group in 2020. Fuel cell companies such as Ballard and Bosch are building collaboration systems with local factories in China.
In 2020, Hyundai Motor built a mass-production line for large hydrogen trucks for the first time in the world and started exporting them to Switzerland. China, along with Europe, is a big potential market for Hyundai. Hyundai Motor is also planning to enter the United States, another big market for hydrogen trucks.
Hyundai Motor is also moving to engage in hydrogen production and supply. In 2020, Hyundai Motor began the joint development of liquefied ammonia technology with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's largest general research institute, and FMG, an Australian iron ore company which ranks fourth in the world. Liquefied ammonia is one of the means for mass transportation of hydrogen.
It is possible to transport hydrogen in large quantities to Korea if Hyundai Motor produces liquefied ammonia by combining hydrogen produced in Australia with nitrogen. Hydrogen can be extracted from the liquefied ammonia in Korea. The key to cooperation is the CSIRO’s technology for extracting high purity hydrogen from ammonia using a metal separator.