Hyundai Motor President and CEO Chang Jae-hoon, right, CEO of Linde plc Sanjiv Lamba, left, and Ivana Jemelkova, executive director of Hydrogen Council, gather at an annual CEO event in Berlin in this photo courtesy of Hydrogen Council, June 18. Yonhap

Chang Jae-hoon, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, has been named co-chair of the Hydrogen Council, a global corporate initiative with a united vision for hydrogen adoption for a clean energy transition, according to the company Tuesday.

Chang will join Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde plc, to lead and work closely with member CEOs of the Hydrogen Council to focus on unlocking demand for hydrogen energy and creating a framework for global trade and accelerated investment, Hyundai said.

The Korean CEO took over the position from Yoshinori Kanehana, chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, who served as co-chair for the past two and a half years.

"The Hydrogen Council is a crucial initiative in our global energy transition effort. I am delighted to be appointed as co-chair, and I look forward to working with fellow hydrogen leaders to bring the council's vision to life," Chang said.

Hyundai said it has been at the forefront of hydrogen momentum for nearly half of the company's existence, achieving many firsts in the area, including developing the world's first mass-produced fuel cell electric passenger and heavy-duty vehicles. (Yonhap)