Hyundai Motor Group will invest 9 trillion won in Saemangeum, Jeonbuk, to establish a growth base for robots, artificial intelligence (AI) and energy solutions.
Hyundai Motor Group on the 27th signed an investment memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government and Jeonbuk State at the Gunsan Saemangeum Convention Center to foster advanced industries in robots and hydrogen and to build an AI hydrogen city.
The ceremony was attended by President Lee Jae-myung; Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT; Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources; Kim Seong-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment; Kim Yun-duk, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Kim Ui-gyeom, Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency administrator; and Kim Kwan-young, governor of Jeonbuk State, along with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun and Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon.
The MOU centers on securing future growth engines by investing 9 trillion won from this year in robots, AI, hydrogen energy, solar power generation and an AI hydrogen city on a 1,124,000-square-meter (about 340,000-pyeong) site in Saemangeum. It is part of the 125.2 trillion won domestic mid- to long-term investment plan that Hyundai Motor Group released last year.
Saemangeum has abundant renewable energy and is expanding wide-area transportation networks such as railroads, ports and airports. Its 409 square kilometers (about 120 million pyeong), two-thirds the size of Seoul, can accommodate large-scale development demand.
Going forward, the government and Jeonbuk State will support administrative procedures such as permits and approvals for Hyundai Motor Group's Saemangeum innovation hub, as well as policies and infrastructure for the development of the robot, AI and hydrogen energy industries, and will establish a mutual cooperation network for smooth project implementation.
With this support, Hyundai Motor Group will accelerate its vision to become a "future technology company centered on robots, AI and energy solutions" that fundamentally changes human life, using the Saemangeum innovation growth hub investment as a springboard. The focus is on building an advanced value chain centered on ▲ AI data centers ▲ robot manufacturing and parts clusters ▲ water electrolysis plants ▲ solar power generation ▲ AI hydrogen cities.
First, Hyundai Motor Group will invest 580 billion won to build an AI data center, regarded as key to realizing physical AI such as Autonomous Driving and robots through the advancement of the future technology brain.
The AI data center will, in phases, be equipped with ultra-large computing power equivalent to 50,000 GPUs and will process and store massive data needed for software-defined vehicle (SDV) development and Smart Factory implementation.
As a corporations capable of securing core data for physical AI across the entire value chain from manufacturing to logistics and sales, Hyundai Motor Group aims to boost the speed and stability of technology and product development by using on-site data for AI training and applying it back to products through a virtuous cycle.
It will also create a 400 billion won robot manufacturing and parts cluster to extend its world-class manufacturing capabilities into customer-tailored Robotics technologies.
The cluster will consist of a finished-robot manufacturing and foundry plant and a parts complex. The robot manufacturing plant, with an annual capacity of 30,000 units, will introduce Hyundai Motor Group's manufacturing solutions and Smart Logistics based on automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
It will also take on the role of contract manufacturing for small and medium-sized enterprises that lack manufacturing know-how. The plan is to promote the expansion of the robot industry among small and medium automotive parts partners to reduce reliance on external sources for key components such as motors and sensors, while strengthening the global competitiveness of Korea's robot industry.
It will invest 1 trillion won to build a 200-megawatt water electrolysis plant that produces clean hydrogen using Saemangeum's renewable energy. In parallel, it will build supply infrastructure near the plant, such as hydrogen charging stations, to use the clean hydrogen produced as a key energy source for various mobility options, including trams, buses and demand-responsive transport (DRT).
Hyundai Motor Group plans to build a total of 1 gigawatt of water electrolysis plants in Korea to solidify the foundation for clean energy self-reliance and to accelerate the early transition to a hydrogen economy. To that end, Hyundai Motor has begun construction of the Ulsan Hydrogen Fuel Cell plant, aiming for completion in 2027.
It will also pursue a gigawatt-scale solar power project worth 1.3 trillion won to supply electricity smoothly where needed by leveraging Saemangeum's abundant sunlight. Since 2021, Hyundai Motor Group has been participating in operating a 99-megawatt solar power facility in Saemangeum Onshore Solar Zone 1. Based on this, it plans to gradually secure a gigawatt-scale solar portfolio by 2035 and use it as a key power source for the AI data center and the water electrolysis plant.
In addition, an AI hydrogen city will be built where Hyundai Motor Group's AI, robot and hydrogen energy technologies are organically integrated to form a complete industrial ecosystem.
The AI hydrogen city, which will receive 400 billion won, will be implemented in the Saemangeum smart waterfront city, where the government is building infrastructure on a 6.6-square-kilometer (about 2 million-pyeong) site. It will introduce a local production–local consumption energy circulation system that uses hydrogen produced at the nearby water electrolysis plant, and physical AI will be applied across daily life, including transportation, logistics and safety, to make it a standard model of a futuristic, zero-emission AI city. Hyundai Motor Group plans to actively apply the city-level demonstration experience in Saemangeum to the construction of AI cities around the world.
Among Hyundai Motor Group's Saemangeum innovation growth hubs, the AI data center and solar power facilities will break ground in 2027 with a goal of completion in 2029. The water electrolysis plant, which will also break ground that year, will complete its first phase in 2029 and then gradually increase capacity, while the robot manufacturing and parts cluster will start construction in 2028 and finish the following year, 2029. Discussions with the Korea Development Bank and the Public Growth Fund are also underway.
Hyundai Motor Group projected that the investment would generate an economic impact of about 16 trillion won, based on input–output tables such as those from the Bank of Korea. The job creation effect is estimated at 71,000 people directly and indirectly.
Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon said, "The next-generation industrial paradigm that begins in Saemangeum will become a linchpin of a grand transition that designs the future of Korea beyond Jeonbuk," adding, "Hyundai Motor Group, which has manufacturing expertise as well as capabilities in robots, AI and hydrogen energy, is ready to build an advanced industrial ecosystem."