In a joint op-ed published on the official blog of the World Economic Forum (WEF) during its Annual Meeting in Davos, Chung and Air Liquide’s Chairman Benoit Potier― incoming and current co-chairs of the Hydrogen Council respectively ― emphasized the need for multilateral cooperation in realising the benefits of global H2 deployment.
In the address, the co-chairs maintained an unwavering stance that public-private collaboration is the only way to move the H2 economy from an idea to a real catalyst for the energy transition.
Through collaborative leadership of the Hydrogen Council alongside Benoit Potier, Chung hopes to contribute to expediting the realisation of a zero-emission H2 energy society, which will help address global climate challenges for future generations.
Source: Hyundai Motor Group
Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor Group reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating the development of a H2 society by leveraging the group’s fuel cell technologies, announcing ‘FCEV Vision 2030’. This includes a plan to drastically boost its annual fuel cell systems production capacity to 700,000 units by 2030 and explore new business opportunities to supply them to other transportation, power generation and storage systems sectors in the future.
Aligning to achieving the goals of The Paris Agreement, which is undertaking ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, the Hydrogen Council was launched at the World Economic Forum 2017, in Davos, and is the first global initiative of its kind. Through international cooperation, it works with several key stakeholders such as governments, global agencies, and the private sector, to showcase the benefits of H2 technology, whilst seeking to develop a strategic plan to help accelerate major investment into the commercialisation of H2 solutions on a global scale.
When produced from renewable and low-carbon sources such as solar and wind energy as well as carbon capture storage (CCS) technologies and solutions, H2 has zero CO2 emissions at the point of use.
As noted by a recent McKinsey report, at scale, H2 could meet 18% of the world’s energy demand. The Hydrogen Council predicts the annual demand for H2 will increase tenfold by 2050, creating jobs and bolstering economies.