Hyundai, Indonesia's Pertamina to co-produce hydrogen from organic waste

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Hyundai, Indonesia's Pertamina to co-produce hydrogen from organic waste

Published: 15 Apr. 2025, 14:10 Updated: 15 Apr. 2025, 16:27

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Hyundai Motor Group and Pertamina executives and officials from Indonesia government, including Park Jae-ha, third from left, vice president at Hyundai's hydrogen business and Eniya Listiani Dewi, fourth from left, director general of new, renewable energy, and energy conservation at Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, take a photo after signing an agreement on hydrogen collaboration at the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia on April 15. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor Group teamed up with Indonesia’s state-run Pertamina Holdings to earnestly produce hydrogen by utilizing waste in the Southeast Asian country in 2027, not giving up on its costly vision to realize a hydrogen ecosystem.

Under the partnership, announced at the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem Summit 2025 on Tuesday, Pertamina will offer Hyundai a site in West Java where Hyundai will build hydrogen reformers and hydrogen chargers by 2027. West Java is where Hyundai has a manufacturing plant as the first location in the Asean region.

The size of the deal or production has not been disclosed.

Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman speaks about the company's hydrogen strategies at the CES 2024 on Jan. 8, 2024 in Las Vegas. [AFP/YONHAP]

It will be Hyundai’s first waste-to-hydrogen production foothold overseas. The waste-to-hydrogen solution utilizes organic waste such as food and sewage sludge to produce hydrogen. The Korean company runs multiple hydrogen projects only in Korea including Chungju and Cheongju, North Chungcheong, and Paju, Gyeonggi.

Hyundai and Pertamina will also cooperate further on how to transport and use the produced hydrogen in the future.

Hyundai Motor's all-new Nexo fuel cell electric vehicle [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai will use waste in the Sarimukti landfill in West Java which handles around 80 percent of 1,500 tons of waste in the city of Bandung. The waste becomes biogas and is transformed to clean hydrogen through hydrogen reformers owned by Hyundai Rotem.

In the process, Hyundai will partner with Sejin G&E to cover the landfill with soil to prevent it from suffering damage from natural disasters.

The project is backed with the full support of the Indonesian government as it has the potential to become a hydrogen project hub, as well as a contribution to Indonesia’s waste issue, Hyundai said in a statement.

Despite it being a promising energy source, many companies are either suspending or postponing their hydrogen business due to costly processes due to the cost of production, taxes and lack of infrastructure.

At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung said, “Hydrogen is for future generations,” showing his determination for its development.

Hyundai Motor in early April unveiled an upgraded Nexo hydrogen-powered vehicle, the first fully revamped model in seven years, despite its plunging sales amid weak demand.

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]