Hyundai Motor Wins Best Pick at WHE 2026 with "Hydrogen Refueling Robot"

Korean journalists vote for innovative technologies to lead the future hydrogen industry
Next Energy, DongHwa Entec, and Hyundai Rotem win Excellent Picks

The Korea Automobile Journalists Association announced on November 12 that Hyundai Motor won the Best Pick, the top award, at the H2 Best Product Media Awards, co-hosted with the World Hydrogen Expo (WHE) Organizing Committee.

The awards evaluated the technologies and products of companies participating in WHE 2026, held November 4-6 at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and selected outstanding technologies. Reporters from the Korea Automobile Journalists Association visited the exhibition to assess and vote on the products’ innovation, market potential, and visitor response. The company with the highest score received the Best Pick, while the next three companies received Excellent Picks.

At WHE 2026, a demonstration of Hyundai Motor's hydrogen fuel cell vehicle automatic charging robot (ACR-H). Korea Automobile Journalists Association

Hyundai Motor won the top award for its Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle Automatic Charging Robot (ACR-H). The Excellent Picks went to Next Energy for its infrared wireless communication system for hydrogen refueling, DongHwa Entec for its ionic hydrogen compressor (HexKomp), and Hyundai Rotem for its 3 MW hydrogen-powered locomotive.

Hyundai Motor’s ACR-H automates the hydrogen vehicle refueling process using robotics and vision-based artificial intelligence (AI). It identifies the vehicle’s refueling port, opens the protective cap, and connects the refueling nozzle. The robot features explosion-proof capabilities and environmental resistance designed for hydrogen refueling station conditions. The technology also received an Excellence Award in the Application category at the H2 Innovation Awards, co-hosted by the WHE Organizing Committee and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology.

Next Energy received an Excellent Pick for a communication system that transmits a hydrogen vehicle’s tank pressure, temperature, and refueling status to a station using contactless infrared technology. The system exchanges information between the vehicle and the station during refueling to support safe and precise control. It was developed entirely in-house, helping lay the groundwork for domestic production of a key hydrogen refueling communication device that had depended on overseas products. The technology also won the top award at the H2 Innovation Awards.

WHE 2026 Next Energy "Infrared Wireless Communication System for Hydrogen Refueling." Korea Automobile Journalists Association

DongHwa Entec’s HexKomp is a reciprocating hydrogen compressor that uses its proprietary ionic pressurized sealing technology and low-speed compression. Its plunger design, which has no piston rings, is engineered to prevent hydrogen leaks and minimize blow-by gas. Check valves installed inside the cylinder cover flange improve volumetric efficiency. DongHwa Entec also won the top award in the Storage and Transportation category at the H2 Innovation Awards.

Hyundai Rotem received an Excellent Pick for its 3 MW hydrogen-powered locomotive, which is under development to replace aging diesel-electric locomotives. The project is being pursued as a research and development initiative by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport from 2024 to 2028, and incorporates a high-capacity hydrogen hybrid power system and technologies for localizing electrical equipment. Its self-contained power system does not require an external power supply. When deployed on non-electrified rail sections, it is expected to reduce the costs of building and maintaining rail infrastructure.

The WHE Organizing Committee said, “At this year’s event, we saw the latest hydrogen technologies developed by Korean industry attract strong interest and open up new business opportunities.” It added, “We will identify companies with outstanding technologies and support the practical commercialization of innovative technologies.”

WHE 2026 was held over three days, November 4-6, in Halls 7 and 8 of Exhibition Center 2 at KINTEX. A total of 266 companies from 22 countries took part in the exhibition and conference, and attendance was approximately 19,000.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.