Hyundai Motor has been awarded the grand prize at the country's largest-scale hydrogen industry event for its entry of an Automatic Charging Robot (ACR-H) for fuel cell electric vehicles.
The Korea Automotive Journalists Association announced on the 12th that Hyundai Motor was selected as the "Best Pick (Grand Prize)" in the WHE 2026 "H2 Best Product Media Award," which it conducted jointly with the WHE Organizing Committee. Next Energy, which unveiled an infrared wireless communication system for hydrogen refueling; Donghwa Entec, which introduced the Ionic hydrogen compressor; and Hyundai Rotem, which exhibited a 3-megawatt-class fuel cell electric locomotive, were each selected as "Excellent Picks (Best Awards)."
Reporters from media outlets affiliated with the Korea Automotive Journalists Association visited WHE 2026, held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the 4th through the 6th, to directly examine participating companies' technologies and products and participate in voting. Based on the ranking of scores from the reporters' votes, the top-ranked company was selected as the Best Pick, and the next three companies were selected as Excellent Picks.
Hyundai Motor's Automatic Charging Robot for fuel cell electric vehicles is a product that automates hydrogen mobility charging through precise robotics technology and advanced vision AI (artificial intelligence) technology. It features explosion-proof capabilities suitable for hydrogen refueling station environments and enhanced environmental durability. At the exhibition site, the robot demonstrated to visitors the entire process of autonomously recognizing the vehicle's charging port, opening the protective cap, and connecting the connector.
At this event, the Hyundai Motor Group also unveiled a 5-megawatt-class electrolyzer stack module configuration method, a commercial fuel cell system with improved durability, Bluelink Uptime Care, and the Saemangeum AI Valley diorama, in addition to the Automatic Charging Robot for fuel cell electric vehicles.
Next Energy's infrared wireless communication system for hydrogen refueling is an integrated communication system that transmits tank pressure, temperature, and charging status information from hydrogen vehicles to hydrogen refueling stations via a non-contact infrared method, supporting safe and accurate charging control.
The "Ionic Hydrogen Compressor HexKomp" unveiled by Donghwa Entec is a product that applies proprietary ionic pressurization sealing technology and a low-speed compression method, featuring a reciprocating structure of the plunger type without piston rings.
Hyundai Rotem's 3-megawatt-class fuel cell electric locomotive is under development as a research and development project by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport from 2024 to 2028 to replace aging diesel-electric locomotives. The goal is to lay the foundation for securing domestic and international markets through a high-capacity hydrogen HYBE-led power system and domestically produced electrical components technology.
The WHE Organizing Committee stated, "At this year's event, we could see that the latest hydrogen technologies developed by our industry received high attention, opening up new commercialization opportunities." It added, "Going forward, through various award programs, we will discover hydrogen companies with outstanding technological capabilities and shine a light on innovative technologies, providing unwavering support so they can be applied to practical commercialization."
in INDUSTRY
