Hyundai breaks ground on first overseas fuel cell system plant in Guangzhou

HTWO Guangzhou, which will open in the second half of 2022, will initially produce 6,500 fuel cell systems per year.

Hyundai Motor Group has announced it held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for HTWO Guangzhou, the Group’s first fuel cell system facility outside of Korea. The investment advances the Group’s global hydrogen leadership and supports its push into China’s rapidly developing hydrogen industry.

Participating in the virtual groundbreaking ceremony were Li Xi, Secretary of Guangdong Province, and Ma Xing Rui, Governor of Guangdong Province — both joining from Guangzhou Yuexiu International Congress Center in China — along with Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman, and Saehoon Kim, Hyundai Head of Fuel Cell Center and Executive Vice President — both joining from Hyundai Motorstudio Goyang in Korea.

“The establishment of HTWO Guangzhou marks an important starting point for Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated fuel cell system brand HTWO,” Chairman Chung said. “Hyundai Motor Group will actively lead clean mobility innovations using its strategic partnerships, world-class technology, hydrogen business capabilities and related expertise.”

Hyundai Motor Group has designated the production and sales hub ‘HTWO Guangzhou’ in line with the name of its dedicated fuel cell system brand. HTWO stands for ‘H2’, the hydrogen molecule, whilst also representing ‘Hydrogen’ and ‘Humanity’, the main pillars of the Group’s fuel cell business.

HTWO Guangzhou will be built in the Guangzhou development district of Guangdong Province, China, with the aim of completing the project in the second half of 2022. Facilities, including a fuel cell system plant and an innovation centre, will be built on the 207,000-square-metre site.

The annual production target for the facility is 6,500 units, with a goal to gradually expand production capacity in line with Chinese market conditions and central government policies.

Driving towards a sustainable hydrogen society
In 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced plans to expand its supply capacity to 700,000 hydrogen fuel cell systems annually by 2030, under its mid- to long-term hydrogen roadmap ‘Fuel Cell Vision 2030’.

Through strategic partnerships with hydrogen, energy and logistics companies around the world, the Group has expanded its fuel cell system business, accelerating development of a hydrogen society and laying the foundation for the company’s HTWO brand, with initial focus on major hub regions — Korea, Europe, China and the U.S.

Since marketing the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicle ix35 in 2013, the Group has been expanding its vehicle offerings powered by its fuel cell system, such as Hyundai NEXO SUV, XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck and a fuel cell electric bus, as zero-emission mobility solutions. As a steering member of the Hydrogen Council, a global coalition of leading energy, transportation and industry companies with a shared vision and long-term ambition for hydrogen, Hyundai is committed to fostering a clean energy transition.