Hyundai Motor Group has signed a $6.1 billion deal to develop an innovation hub in its native South Korea, covering AI, robotics and more.
The automaker, which sells Hyundai, Kia and Genesis-branded vehicles, announced an agreement worth nine trillion won with the Korean government and Jeonbuk State to start construction later this year.
The hub will be located in the Saemangeum area of Gunsan, a well-connected port city of just over a quarter of a million people around 110 miles south-west of the capital Seoul.
Hyundai earmarked five areas it will focus on as it seeks to play a pivotal role in shaping the industrial landscape of its home country.
Leading the way as the largest investment of $4 billion is the establishment of AI data center infrastructure, which will be responsible for processing the massive data sets required for autonomous driving and robotics.
The company has made no secret of its ambition to play a leading role globally in the development of automated transport, having conducted trials of vehicles in Korea fitted with in-house tech for years and committing to the Next Urban Mobility Alliance, a program dedicated to developing a future mobility ecosystem in the country centered on autonomous driving. Further afield, it has signed deals with U.S. companies Waymo and Avride to jointly develop robotaxis.
Among the key features of the AI data center will be 50,000 GPUs, storage for model learning and training, development of software-defined vehicles and the implementation of “smart factories.” Construction is scheduled to start in 2027 and be completed in 2029.
A second element of the Gunsan hub will be a robotics manufacturing cluster, which Hyundai has earmarked for around $277 million. Hyundai presented a detailed vision of its robotics roadmap at this year’s CES and has previously revealed a production version of its forthcoming MobED mobility robot.
The cluster is scheduled for completion in 2029, and will include a foundry operation plant and component supply zone, as well as a Robot Application Center for training and verification of robots. Hyundai said it will ultimately be capable of assembling 30,000 robots annually, making use of the company’s autonomous manufacturing tools.
The other elements of the new innovation hub are a Proton Exchange Membrane electrolyzer plant to produce clean hydrogen, another key part of Hyundai’s future, to which $694 million has been pledged; the development of solar power infrastructure (or $902 million); and development of an AI/hydrogen smart city ($277 million), which the company has previously showcased in concept form.
The initiative is part of Hyundai’s wider plan to invest $85 billion in its home country by 2030, and is expected to generate 11 billion in economic impact, while creating around 71,000 jobs.
“What we’re building in Saemangeum will reshape not just a region, but Korea’s industrial future,” Jaehoon Chang, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive division, said in a press release. “Hyundai Motor Group brings together the manufacturing excellence, AI capabilities, and hydrogen energy expertise needed to establish a truly advanced industrial ecosystem.”
