Hyundai to expand HTWO fuel cell system brand

MANILA: Hyundai announced that it will expand its HTWO fuel cell system brand into into Hyundai Motor Group’s hydrogen value chain business brand.

The said declaration was made during the company’s presentation at CES 2024, which highlighted a hydrogen-powered, software-driven transformation under the theme “Ease every way.”

Per Hyundai, the announcement means that the HTWO brand now encompasses the South Korean conglomerate’s businesses and affiliates, enabling each stage of the entire clean hydrogen value chain, from production and storage to transportation and utilization.

“The HTWO business leverages the Group’s wide-ranging capabilities in various sectors, such as automobile, parts, steel, construction, air mobility, marine, robotics, and future technologies. The model focuses on the four core areas of the energy value chain: production, storage, transportation, and utilization. The Group’s affiliates are positioned throughout the value chain, forming a hydrogen grid that allows for the development of tailored end-to-end hydrogen solutions,” Hyundai Executive Vice President and Head of Global Commercial Vehicle and Hydrogen Business Ken Ramírez explained.

In addition, the South Korean car brand has showcased its blueprint for a hydrogen energy ecosystem and a vision for software and artificial intelligence (AI).

“At Hyundai, we believe that science and humanity are two sides of the same coin; that advanced technology should also make people’s lives better. Clean hydrogen should be for everyone, powering everything, and available everywhere,” Hyundai Motor Company President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Chang said.

The Seoul-headquartered brand believes that hydrogen plays a crucial role in Hyundai’s sustainability roadmap as it is a clean energy source, with water being its only byproduct when used as fuel.

Hydrogen, Hyundai pointed out, also enables the maximization of renewable energy utilization worldwide due to its advantages in storage and distribution.

On that note, Hyundai sees hydrogen as the path to a sustainable future, as it is both clean and accessible.

To this end, Hyundai revealed some of the company’s initiatives that will further its strides in achieving its goals as well as its commitment to becoming a sustainable company.

Hyundai is also developing megawatt-scale polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer manufacturing capabilities for green hydrogen production. The said technology is expected to be commercialized within the next few years.

Furthermore, the consortium is concentrating on resource circulation hydrogen production technology that aims to transform environmental pollutants into clean hydrogen.

Hyundai noted that the resource circulation technology the brand is focusing on includes two approaches: Waste-to-Hydrogen (W2H) and Plastic-to-Hydrogen (P2H).

“W2H involves the fermentation of organic waste, such as food, sludge, and livestock manure, to generate biogas. This biogas is then treated to capture carbon dioxide and produce hydrogen. P2H, on the other hand, involves melting waste plastics that cannot be recycled, gasifying the molten plastics, and producing hydrogen by removing unnecessary elements,” Hyundai explained in a statement.

On top of the said initiatives, Hyundai also discussed various moves that will bring the automotive brand closer to its sustainability goals including its involvement in various hydrogen projects globally, the development of hydrogen solutions tailored to specific customer needs, as well as a waste-to-hydrogen production and hydrogen value chain, among others.

Photos from Hyundai

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