[ESG Symposium] Kim Sehun, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company, "Hydrogen is the Key Energy for Carbon Neutrality"

Lecture on "Arrival of the Hydrogen Society and Hyundai Motor Group Vision" at the 2021 Asia ESG Symposium

Sehun Kim, Vice President and Head of Fuel Cell Business Division at Hyundai Motor Company, is giving a presentation on the topic "The Arrival of the Hydrogen Society and Hyundai Motor Group's Vision" at the "2021 Asia ESG Symposium" held on the 29th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] "Hyundai Motor Group plans to expand investment in the hydrogen economy and strengthen its lineup of hydrogen electric vehicles to lead the upcoming carbon-neutral society."

Sehoon Kim, Vice President and Head of the Fuel Cell Business Division at Hyundai Motor Company, attended as a speaker for Session 1 at the '2021 Asia ESG Symposium' held on the 29th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, stating that Hyundai Motor Group will take the lead in the development of the hydrogen economy and the carbon-neutral society.

In his lecture titled "The Arrival of the Hydrogen Society and Hyundai Motor Group's Vision," Vice President Kim explained, "Countries around the world are successively declaring carbon neutrality to respond to climate change," adding, "Specific plans to achieve this are also being announced one after another."

He explained, "The EU has moved to ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, and the United States plans to electrify 50% of new cars starting in 2030," adding, "South Korea is also preparing for a carbon-neutral society by enacting the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act."

Hyundai Motor has also joined these movements and recently announced a phased electrification plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. Hyundai plans to stop selling internal combustion engine vehicles domestically from 2040 and to cease sales of internal combustion vehicles worldwide by 2045.

To this end, Hyundai plans to gradually increase the sales ratio of electrified vehicles, such as hydrogen electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles, to 30% of global vehicle sales by 2030.

Hyundai Motor forecasts that hydrogen will be the core energy of a carbon-neutral society. Vice President Kim emphasized, "Hydrogen energy will be the key in the carbon-neutral era," adding, "Large-scale hydrogen-related projects and investments are already underway worldwide to prepare for the hydrogen society."

In particular, he explained, "In the past, the automotive industry was in a mood to give up on developing hydrogen electric vehicles, but recently, as the value of hydrogen energy has been reappraised, cooperation in hydrogen electric vehicle development is becoming active again."

He continued, "Major domestic companies such as Hyundai Motor, SK, and POSCO have formed a business summit to lead the upcoming hydrogen society and announced plans to invest a total of 43 trillion won in the hydrogen industry."

Vice President Kim stated, "Hyundai Motor has been accumulating hydrogen electric vehicle and fuel cell technology for about 20 years and is also promoting the sales business of fuel cell systems verified in hydrogen electric vehicles."