As the world’s fifth largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Company employs more than 30,000 in the US, and more than 700,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles are made in the US.

Through this agreement, Hyundai Motor and UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for DOE, will also work to identify R&D funding opportunities of mutual interest and coordinate meetings to exchange information. Hyundai sees ORNL as providing significant expertise in diverse areas.

This collaboration with ORNL will firm and accelerate our technology development as Hyundai strives to become the globe’s leading automaker. The U.S. market is strategically very important, and our goal is to be relentless in the pursuit of new competitive technologies.

—Tae Won Lim, VP and head of Hyundai Motor Group’s Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute

The first collaboration is scheduled for this fall with a workshop on materials development and multi-material joining methods. Additional research areas will be explored as the partnership matures. ORNL will also provide coordination with other national laboratories to pursue best technology and technical expertise.

Claus Daniel, deputy director of ORNL’s Transportation Program, noted that the laboratory has a long history of working with the automotive industry to develop and commercialize advanced materials and manufacturing technologies.

ORNL has the nation’s largest concentration of open source materials research spanning all the materials science and engineering disciplines from fundamental materials science to alloy development, synthesis, manufacturing, testing and characterization. We expect this relationship with Hyundai to bring vehicles to life from design, engineering and production in the US, which is consistent with the mission of ORNL and the Department of Energy.

—Claus Daniel