GOYANG, South Korea. The World Hydrogen Expo 2026 opened on the morning of Wednesday 4 November at KINTEX, with 197 exhibiting companies and institutions from 12 countries under the theme “Hydrogen Moves to Market: Making Bankable Projects Work”. The show runs until 6 November in Halls 7 and 8 of KINTEX Exhibition Center 2, and organisers expect about 30,000 visitors over the three days.
Opening ceremony joins Korea’s fifth Hydrogen Day
The opening was held together with the fifth Hydrogen Day commemoration and drew about 300 people. They included Lee Ho-hyun, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and lawmaker Lee Jong-bae. The ministry said hydrogen is a key tool for decarbonising hard to abate industries and that the government will set policy to build a clean hydrogen ecosystem.
Jung Dae-jin, chairman of the Korea Automobile and Mobility Industry Association and co-chair of the organising committee, welcomed guests and said the expo should be a place to share the latest trends and create business. Co-chair Kim Jae-hong, chairman of the Korea Hydrogen Association, said the global hydrogen industry stands at an important turning point.
The ceremony included awards for contributors to the hydrogen industry and a staged message performance by government, National Assembly and industry representatives on the theme of cooperation. Key guests then toured the exhibition hall.
What visitors will find at the World Hydrogen Expo 2026
Hyundai Motor Group is the largest presence, with a 720 square metre display under its HTWO brand. The centrepiece is a 5 MW class electrolyzer stack module built from twelve PEM stacks, shown for the first time. The company says one module can produce about 700 tonnes of hydrogen a year, which is a capacity figure and not measured output. Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon visited on the opening day.
The booth also shows the 2027 Nexo hydrogen SUV, a commercial fuel cell system with improved durability, a waste to hydrogen production model and an automatic charging robot demonstrated on a hydrogen electric cleaning truck. Test drives of the Universe bus and the New Xcient truck run on 4 and 5 November.
A scale model of an HTWO hydrogen ecosystem links the pieces, from biogas reforming and water electrolysis to fuel cell trucks moving freight between a port and a logistics complex.
Other exhibitors include Kolon Industries, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, Bumhan Fuel Cell, Hylium Industry and Lightbridge. Overseas names include TMEIC, Henkel Korea and Ebara, and the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials and the Korea Testing Laboratory are also present.
Conference, business matching and awards
The international conference runs in four tracks, Leadership Insights, Hydrogen Deep Dive, Country Day and Future to Tech. Speakers include Ivana Jemelkova, CEO of the Hydrogen Council, Uwe Remme of the International Energy Agency, Laurent Antoni of the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy, and Tetsufumi Ikeda, chair of the ISO technical committee on hydrogen. Topics include project investment, international trade, green ammonia and standards.
On the business side, the H2 Business Partnership Fair runs on 4 and 5 November with KOTRA, arranging one on one meetings between 21 overseas buyers and about 50 Korean hydrogen companies. The H2 Innovation Award ceremony, with 14 finalists, is also held on 4 November. Winners had not been published at the time of writing.
What the World Hydrogen Expo 2026 signals
The theme is about bankability, and the opening followed it. The government message was about building a market for hydrogen, and the industry message was about real investment and trade. Showing technology is no longer enough for the World Hydrogen Expo 2026. Projects need buyers and financing.
Coverage of the opening reports no agreements signed at the ceremony itself, so the next two days will show how many meetings turn into contracts. For another side of Korea’s energy plans, see the analysis of South Korea SMR plans and the reactor it does not have at home. The show is open from 10:00 to 17:00 and closes at 16:00 on 6 November. Details are on the official expo website.
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