Hyundai shows a 5 MW PEM module, and the 40,000-hour stack sets the cost

Hyundai Motor Group presented at World Hydrogen Expo 2026, in South Korea, a 5 MW PEM electrolyser module with 12 stacks, the size of a 40-foot container. According to the company, as reported by FCW, each module can produce about 700 tonnes of hydrogen per year, and capacity grows by adding modules.

What sets lifetime cost is stack durability. The US Department of Energy's technical targets for PEM electrolysis list a stack lifetime of 40,000 hours at 2022 status and a target of 80,000 hours for 2026, with degradation falling from 0.25% to 0.13% per thousand hours and system cost from USD 1,000 to USD 250 per kW.

In continuous operation, 40,000 hours equal about four and a half years, and stack replacement enters the project's cash flow. A container format with separate stacks eases partial replacement and expansion, but the material consulted does not report the module's lifetime or degradation.

Modularity lowers the cost of growing. Stack lifetime decides the cost of keeping it running.