Hyundai x Bloomberg -
H2 Economy 2021
- PHOTOS WORDS
- HYUNDAI X BLOOMBERG MEDIA GROUP
4 minute read
Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. As part of our ongoing quest to realize a more sustainable future, we have teamed up with Bloomberg for a second time to find out more about the global hydrogen economy. Read on to find out more about our H2 Economy 2021 campaign.
The world has changed over the past year and now is the time to imagine what the future will look like. For us at Hyundai, this involves creating a hydrogen society that will benefit humanity and our planet. But what does the global H2 economy look like today? And which countries are leading the way in terms of H2 policies and infrastructure? We teamed up with Bloomberg again to find out.
Hydrogen is only beginning to scale.DR. SAEHOON KIM HEAD OF FUEL CELL CENTER
Hydrogen:
The fuel of the future
Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth. It’s highly efficient as a fuel and its only emissions are electricity, heat and water. This makes hydrogen an attractive fuel for zero-emissions vehicles, but it also has the potential to revolutionize how we heat our homes and offices, produce electricity as well as fuel aircraft.
The H2 Economy Today
In order to realize the full potential of hydrogen, though, global players need to invest in hydrogen technology, implement hydrogen policies and build infrastructure for producing and transporting hydrogen. Together with Bloomberg, we set out to find out how 15 of the world’s hydrogen leaders are faring when it comes to these things.
The 2021 H2 Index Rankings
Bloomberg ranked 15 countries: Germany, South Korea, Netherlands, France, Japan, Canada, U.K, Norway, U.S, Denmark, Australia, China, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, India. They were indexed by evaluating each country’s introduction of hydrogen, along with their policies, and investment for hydrogen. The rankings are evaluated across 5 sectors and based on 3 criteria. The 5 sectors are: Transportation, Energy, Heat, Exports and Feedstocks. And the 3 criteria are: Policy & Regulation, Infrastructure & Market Maturity, and Research, Development and Demonstration.
For more information about the Methodology check out the campaign on Bloomberg.com.
The 2021 ranking looks like this.
The 2021 H2 Heroes
Overall leader: Germany
Germany placed No.1 in Bloomberg’s H2 Index due to its growth within the transport sector. Last year, Germany announced that it intends to expand the role of green hydrogen to help end the country's reliance on coal and is set to spend €9 billion to do so.
Energy Leader: The Netherlands
Globally, the energy sector accounts for three-quarters of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrogen could transform this sector as fossil fuels can be replaced by zero-carbon hydrogen systems which would mitigate climate change substantially.
The Netherlands was identified as a leader in hydrogen energy production and transportation. The country aims to reduce its carbon emissions by 49% by 2030 and plans to use its geographical position to become a hydrogen hub while utilizing existing port infrastructure to connect Europe and the world in a global hydrogen market.
The Impact of the
H2 Economy
The global hydrogen market is projected to grow 5.7% from 2021 to 2028 and the effects will be felt on land, on the sea, and in the air. Thanks to the efforts of these 15 countries and many more, the tide is turning away from fossil fuels towards the building of an H2 ecosystem, making both a hydrogen society and a healthier planet a reality.
Hyundai’s H2 Initiatives
Hyundai is committed to realizing a hydrogen-powered future and we’re investing heavily in hydrogen technology. One example of this is our NEXO, launched in 2018, which is intelligent, efficient, and only emits pure, clean water.
In late 2020, we started delivering the first of our XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks, the world’s first mass-produced fuel cell electric heavy-duty truck, to customers in Switzerland. We plan to roll out a total of 1,600 XCIENT Fuel Cell trucks by 2025.
In January 2021, we signed an investment contract with the government of Guangdong Province to establish an offshore fuel cell system production facility in Guangzhou, China. This production facility is just one of the ways that we intend to fulfill our commitment to manufacturing 700,000 fuel cells by 2030. 500,000 of these will be used for passenger vehicles and 200,000 will be produced for other industries, to power drones, locomotives, and even ships.
(Photo of Fuel cell system production facility in Guangzhou, China)
Sometime soon, the H2 fuel cells pioneered by Hyundai will be used to power entire cities. Our hydrogen technology has the power, not just to change how we drive, but also how we live. Check out our latest video to find out more.
Find out more about the H2 Economy campaign on Bloomberg.com and keep up to date about Hyundai’s commitments to sustainability by following Hyundai’s Instagram(@hyundai).