Hyundai showcases its fuel cell SUV at the Beijing auto show in September 2020. [Photo by Cao Yingying/chinadaily.com.cn]

Guangzhou Development District signed an investment cooperative agreement with South Korean automaker Hyundai to set up Hyundai Motor Company HTWO (Guangzhou) on Friday.

It is Hyundai's first overseas hydrogen fuel cell production base and sales corporation, and Hyundai Motor Group has also become the first global automobile manufacturer to establish a hydrogen fuel cell system production base in China.

According to the agreement, the construction of the company, which is 100 percent owned by Hyundai, will officially begin by the end of February with production scheduled to start in the second half of 2022.

The new company expects to be able to produce more than 6,500 sets of hydrogen fuel cell systems annually at the preliminary stage, and production will be expanded according to market demands in the future.

At the very beginning, the hydrogen fuel cell system the company produces will mainly be used for Hyundai's NEXO, a modern hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

The project also will help promote and accelerate the development and expansion of China's hydrogen fuel cell industry and market.