Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jaehoon Chang Announced as New Co-Chair of Hydrogen Council

• Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jaehoon Chang appointed as Hydrogen Council Co-Chair, building on Hyundai Motor Group’s legacy as key Council member
• President and CEO Chang to actively engage in activities to promote the global hydrogen economy and propose solutions for future energy transition

The Hydrogen Council has announced Hyundai Motor Company President and CEO Jaehoon Chang as its new Co-Chair, joining Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde.

Together, the two Co-Chairs will work closely with Hydrogen Council member CEOs as the organization enters its next chapter, focused on unlocking the potential demand for a global hydrogen economy and creating a framework for international trade and accelerated investment.

President and CEO Chang takes over from Yoshinori Kanehana, Chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., who served as Co-Chair for the past two and a half years. His appointment follows Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, who led the Council from January 2019 to July 2020.

Hyundai and its Commitment to Hydrogen

Hyundai Motor has been dedicated to the development of hydrogen technologies since establishing a Fuel Cell research and development division in 1998.

Through continuous investment and research, Hyundai Motor has strengthened its leadership in the hydrogen sector, including:

• The independent development of a fuel cell stack in 2004
• The world's first mass production of a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), the Tucson ix35 FCEV, in 2013
• Mass production of the NEXO, the first dedicated FCEV, in 2018; and the world's first mass production of XCIENT Fuel Cell, heavy duty hydrogen-powered truck, in 2020.

At CES 2024 , Hyundai Motor revealed its plans to expand HTWO, the brand for its hydrogen fuel cell system. Originally introduced in 2020, HTWO encompasses the entire hydrogen value chain business for the Hyundai Motor Group, covering production, storage, transportation, and utilization.

In May, Hyundai Motor shared its hydrogen vision and introduced its U.S. clean logistics business at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo 2024 , consistently reinforcing its leading position in advancing the hydrogen ecosystem through diverse business projects globally. Also, XCIENT Fuel Cell electric heavy-duty trucks recently surpassed a cumulative driving distance of 10 million km in Swiss fleet operations — a testament to the world-class hydrogen fuel cell technology’s long-term reliability.

As President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, Jaehoon Chang has been actively engaged in activities to promote the creation of a hydrogen economy and to propose practical solutions for future energy transition. In his new role as Co-Chair, he will discuss global hydrogen energy demand and closely cooperate with CEOs of the Hydrogen Council’s member organizations to accelerate global trade and investment.

Jaehoon Chang said, "The Hydrogen Council is a crucial initiative in our global energy transition effort. I am delighted to be appointed as Co-Chair and I look forward to working with fellow hydrogen leaders to drive innovation and advance deployment."

History of the Hydrogen Council

Established during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2017, the Hydrogen Council is a CEO-led global consortium comprising leading companies that share a vision and ambition for hydrogen to accelerate the clean energy transition. Starting with 13 member companies at the time of its inception, the Hydrogen Council now has more than 140 member organizations from more than 20 countries.

During the annual Hydrogen Council meeting held from June 10 to 12 in Berlin, Germany, over 200 CEOs and government officials from the European Union, representing the global hydrogen industry, came together to discuss practical solutions for advancing hydrogen energy. In addition to the appointment of President and CEO Chang as the Co-Chair of the council, the event highlighted a renewed commitment to collaboration for the deployment of hydrogen ecosystems, under the theme of “Leadership in Action”.