World Hydrogen Expo 2026 Closes at KINTEX With 266 Companies From 22 Countries

WHE 2026 brought together industry leaders to explore hydrogen investment, international cooperation and commercial applications.

SEOUL, GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA, November 9, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- - About 19,000 visitors, four conference tracks and 111 one-to-one business meetings at a leading hydrogen event in the Asia-Pacific region

World Hydrogen Expo 2026 (WHE 2026) closed Friday, Nov. 6, after three days in Halls 7 and 8 of KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 in Goyang. The show began Nov. 4 and drew 266 companies from 22 countries across its exhibition and conference programs, along with about 19,000 visitors. It was led by the WORLD HYDROGEN EXPO 2026 Organizing Committee, co-chaired by Daejin Jeong, chairman of the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA), and Jaehong Kim, chairman of H2KOREA.

This year's show was held together with the fifth Hydrogen Day, a statutory commemorative day, under the slogan "Hydrogen Moves to Market: Making Bankable Projects Work." Last year the organizers combined the international conference and the exhibition. This year they focused on cooperation among government, industry and the international community, turning technology development and policy discussion into investment and commercialization.

197 Exhibitors From 12 Countries Span the Hydrogen Value Chain

The exhibition drew 197 companies from 12 countries, with new technologies covering the full hydrogen value chain from production to storage, transport and utilization. Korean participants included Hyundai Motor Group, Kolon Industries, Bumhan Fuel Cell, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, DongHwa Entec, KOHYGEN, G-PHILOS, Enerzine and Hylium Industries. International companies such as TMEIC, Heraeus, Bürkert Korea, Ebara and Thermo Fisher Scientific also took part. Research institutions, including the Korea Institute of Energy Research, the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials and the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR), shared their research results and activities.Four Conference Tracks Cover Policy, Technology, Investment and Industry

The conference ran four tracks: Leadership Insight, Hydrogen Deep Dive, Country Day and Future to TECH. Leadership Insight covered the hydrogen policies of major countries, progress on international projects and the investment outlook, and set out a broad vision for the hydrogen ecosystem. Hydrogen Deep Dive discussed concrete commercialization strategies and cooperation in five areas: clean hydrogen production and utilization, project investment, international hydrogen trade, green ammonia and international standards.

At Country Day, Germany, Canada and China presented their clean hydrogen support policies and industry trends, laying a base for technology cooperation and for wider supply chains. Future to TECH focused on two themes, "Next-generation core hydrogen technologies" and "Hydrogen infrastructure and industrial applications," with Korean and international companies and research institutions presenting technology trends, business strategies and examples of industrial use. In the next-generation session, Kolon Industries presented development trends in membrane-based materials and components, drawing the attention of many visitors.

H2 Innovation Award Names Next Energy Grand Prize Winner

The H2 Innovation Award ceremony on Nov. 4 drew about 200 guests from Korea and abroad, who congratulated the winners and pledged to cooperate for the growth of the industry. The award recognizes innovative technologies and outstanding companies in the hydrogen industry and is Korea's most prestigious award in the field of hydrogen technology. Next Energy won the Grand Prize for its infrared wireless communication system for hydrogen refueling.

Best Awards went to Enerich in production for its next-generation porous transport layer (PTL) for water electrolysis stacks, to DongHwa Entec in storage and transport for its ionic hydrogen compressor HexKomp, and to TerraLIX in utilization for its HYCUS air-cooled PEM fuel cell stack and power module. Excellence Awards went to Joong Il Materials for a hydrogen production catalyst with controlled precious metal loading, to TNG for a hydraulic ultra-high-pressure hydrogen compressor and to Hyundai Motor Company for a hydrogen charging robot.

Five Overseas Outlets Select 15 Companies

At the WHE 2026 Global Media Awards, specialist journalists from overseas toured the show floor to see innovative technologies and products. Five outlets took part as official partners: Renewables Now of Bulgaria, EnergyNews.biz and Hydrogen Insight of the UK, SolarQuarter of India and H2 Mobile of France. Together they selected 15 companies.

Renewables Now chose NITTO KOHKI, Xebec Korea and Hyundai Rotem. EnergyNews.biz chose Kolon Industries, TNE Korea and Powertech Labs, and Hydrogen Insight chose Hydrogen Contango, TMEIC Corporation and HydroXpand. SolarQuarter named Bürkert Korea, INFICON and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, while H2 Mobile picked Ebara Corporation, Hylium Industries and Hyundai Motor Group as hydrogen innovators. The outlets helped spread word of the participating companies' technology and brand value to international markets.

111 Business Meetings Link Global Buyers With Korean Companies

The H2 Business Partnership Fair brought together 20 global buyers from Japan, Australia, India and China, selected through the overseas network of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and about 50 Korean hydrogen companies. Over two days they held 111 one-to-one business meetings. Korean hydrogen specialists used them to build a base for overseas cooperation and to identify export opportunities based on local demand.

Applications Widen From Mobility to Core Materials

Hyundai Motor Group centered its booth on HTWO, its hydrogen brand and business platform. It introduced megawatt-scale proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis technology, the Waste-to-Hydrogen (W2H) resource-circulation business model and mobility solutions for passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and rail, and it presented an integrated hydrogen business vision that includes Saemangeum AI Valley. The group also ran test-drive programs for hydrogen-powered buses and trucks, and it demonstrated the ACR-H hydrogen charging robot together with a control system that makes commercial hydrogen vehicles easier to use.

Several emerging midsize and small companies that have concentrated on hydrogen technology also took part, along with specialists in individual fields. Companies with expertise in the core components, equipment and engineering that support commercialization stood out, showing that the technological base of the hydrogen ecosystem has grown deeper.

"This event was a place where global hydrogen industry leaders shared strategies for commercialization and worked out concrete ways to cooperate," the Organizing Committee said. "We will actively support WHE in becoming a hub for the hydrogen ecosystem and a gateway for Korean companies into the world hydrogen market."

Building on the cooperation network it formed this year, the committee plans to expand technology cooperation and commercialization opportunities for Korean and international hydrogen companies at next year's show, planned for November, and to strengthen its standing as a platform that represents the world's hydrogen industry.

World Hydrogen Expo 2026 (WHE 2026) was held from Nov. 4 to Nov. 6 at KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 in Goyang, South Korea, and brought together 197 exhibitors from 12 countries to showcase technologies spanning hydrogen production, storage, distribution and utilization. Organized by the WHE 2026 Organizing Committee, co-chaired by the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) and H2KOREA, the event combined the H2 MEET exhibition with an international conference, the H2 Business Partnership Fair and industry networking programs. Under the theme "Hydrogen Moves to Market: Making Bankable Projects Work," WHE 2026 focused on advancing hydrogen commercialization, investment and international collaboration.

Davis Kim
AVING News
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