Hyundai Motor signs multilateral MOU to accelerate hydrogen bus rollout

Hyundai Motor signed a multilateral memorandum of understanding Tuesday with Seonjin Group, HyNet, the Korea Automobile Environment Association and the Korea Natural Gas and Hydrogen Charging Association to expand hydrogen mobility through improvements in charging infrastructure. The signing ceremony was held at UX Studio Seoul in Hyundai Motor's Gangnam-daero office building.

Senior Managing Director Park Seung-won of Hyundai Motor's Business Innovation Division, Seonjin Group Chairman Shin Jae-ho, Vice Chairman Park Hong-je, HyNet CEO Song Seong-ho, Korea Automobile Environment Association Chairman Hwang Gye-young and Korea Natural Gas and Hydrogen Charging Association Chairman Kang Jeong-gu attended the ceremony.

The agreement aims to introduce hydrogen buses on Seonjin Group's major bus routes in the Greater Seoul area and to build out the charging infrastructure needed to support them.

Seonjin Group operates about 1,700 buses through 17 transport subsidiaries across the Greater Seoul and Honam regions. Under the partnership, the group plans to convert existing compressed natural gas stations at its depots in Gimpo and Paju into hydrogen charging stations and to introduce a total of 480 hydrogen buses in phases by 2032.

HyNet will build and operate large-capacity hydrogen charging stations at designated depot sites. The Korea Automobile Environment Association will support the construction and activation of hydrogen charging infrastructure, while the Korea Natural Gas and Hydrogen Charging Association will work to spread an innovative charging infrastructure model.

Hyundai Motor will supply hydrogen buses to Seonjin Group on schedule and provide specialized maintenance training to help ensure stable operations.

The automaker had previously signed hydrogen bus transition agreements with major operators KD Transport Group and K1 Mobility. The latest deal with Seonjin Group reinforces its push to lead the shift to hydrogen mobility in Greater Seoul's public transportation network.

"Hyundai Motor is leading the expansion of charging infrastructure by supporting the entire process — from identifying optimal sites to matching specialized construction firms — for transport companies and local governments that need hydrogen charging stations," a company official said. "We will continue to drive the spread of the hydrogen mobility ecosystem through effective multilateral cooperation models."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor participated in the 2026 Green Hydrogen Global Forum with Distributed Energy Forum, a three-day event that opened Monday at the Jeju International Convention Center, where it shared its vision for an energy transition linking renewable energy and hydrogen, as well as the role of hydrogen mobility.