[Tech Report] What Does the Hydrogen Society Envisioned by Hyundai Motor Group Look Like?

Imagining the Future in 2045... Hydrogen Society 'Approaching'
Hydrogen, Key Energy for Korea's Carbon Neutrality
Mobile Hydrogen Stations Enable Charging Anywhere
Lowering Green Hydrogen Costs with PEM Electrolysis Technology
Producing Hydrogen from Food Waste and Plastic Waste

Editor's NoteHydrogen energy is gaining attention as a core energy source ushering in South Korea's carbon-neutral era. Experts agree that South Korea, with its limited land and high need for surplus energy storage, has greater potential for hydrogen energy utilization than solar or wind power generation. How will our daily lives change when we truly enter a hydrogen society? Hyundai Motor Group, leading the domestic hydrogen industry, imagines the future of a hydrogen society set in the year 2045.

# Future 2045, Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant. Dozens of hydrogen fuel cell trucks are transporting finished vehicles and parts. Large hydrogen fuel cell trucks are used not only for short-distance transport within the plant but also for intercity travel. By 2030, over 10,000 of these trucks had already been deployed in domestic logistics sites. If you want to charge a hydrogen fuel cell truck, you can do so in 5 minutes at hydrogen charging stations located throughout the city. In areas without charging stations, you can call a mobile hydrogen charging station. The mobile charging station, designed as a moving truck, can charge up to 25 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles per day at a pressure of 350 bar. One bar is approximately equal to atmospheric pressure.

The hydrogen used for charging at the Ulsan plant is 100% green hydrogen. It is produced using renewable energy and emits no carbon. Compared to gray and blue hydrogen, it is considered the most environmentally friendly energy source.

Hyundai Motor Group has lowered procurement costs by producing green hydrogen through various methods. First, Hyundai developed megawatt-class polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis technology. This technology produces hydrogen using only water as the raw material without any compounds. It has the advantages of high hydrogen purity and device miniaturization. However, the PEM method requires precious metals, making it more expensive than conventional water electrolysis technology (alkaline water electrolysis). Hyundai succeeded in reducing the cost of PEM-produced hydrogen by sharing fuel cell parts and production infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Group developed hydrogen production technology using waste. This method refines methane from food waste, sewage sludge (sediment from water treatment processes), and livestock manure to produce biogas, which is then converted into hydrogen. They have also commercialized technology to produce hydrogen from waste plastics. Waste plastics are melted into a liquid state to create synthesis gas, which is then refined to extract hydrogen. To this end, hydrogen production facilities were installed at the public sewage treatment plant in Cheongju City, producing over 1,000 kg of hydrogen daily. Through various attempts, the domestic green hydrogen procurement price has dropped below 4,000 KRW per kilogram, as Bloomberg predicted about 20 years ago.

The methods of storing and transporting imported hydrogen have also undergone many changes. Initially, hydrogen was transported in gaseous form, but the time and cost required for high-temperature compression were too high. To address this, hydrogen was imported in liquefied form by ship, but liquefied hydrogen requires maintaining an ultra-low temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius, which is costly and still bulky.

Hyundai Motor Group uses ammonia (NH₃), a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen, as an alternative method for hydrogen transport. Its affiliate, Hyundai Glovis, secured a contract for a large carrier ship to import hydrogen in ammonia form. Ammonia can store 1.7 times more hydrogen per unit volume compared to liquefied hydrogen and can be easily liquefied at room temperature.

Hyundai Motor Company Hydrogen Fuel Cell System
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Company]

Hydrogen fuel cell technology for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has laid the foundation for Hyundai Motor Group to lead the global hydrogen economy. In the past, Hyundai released the world's first mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Tucson ix35, in 2013, followed by the world's first hydrogen fuel cell truck, the Xcient, in 2022. In 2025, they introduced a passenger car (Nexo successor) equipped with a third-generation hydrogen fuel cell that significantly improved driving range, output, and durability.

The hydrogen fuel cell system, which is lighter than electric batteries and has shorter charging times, has long been established as a new eco-friendly power source in commercial vehicles, UAM (Urban Air Mobility), and ships. Most large domestic companies use hydrogen buses for commuting, and hydrogen fuel cells are widely used in commercial vehicles such as long-distance freight trucks, garbage trucks, and tractors.