8th GHIAA General Assembly in Seoul: Expanding the Member Network with New Participants Including the South African Hydrogen Association and the Vietnam ASEAN Hydrogen Club
On December 5, 2025, in Seoul, South Korea, the 8th General Assembly of the Global Hydrogen Industrial Association Alliance (GHIAA) was convened with a special highlight: for the first time, two new observer organizations from two continents were invited to participate online and officially welcomed into the network. These were the South African Hydrogen Association and the Vietnam ASEAN Hydrogen Club (VAHC). This event not only marks a new milestone in GHIAA’s expansion strategy but also reaffirms the growing importance of emerging economies on the global hydrogen map.
GHIAA: A Global Cooperation Platform for the Hydrogen Economy
Before discussing the conference itself, it is important to understand GHIAA (Global Hydrogen Industrial Association Alliance). Officially established on May 25, 2022, GHIAA was founded under the initiative of H2KOREA (the Hydrogen Industry Association of Korea) with the aim of creating a global communication and cooperation platform for hydrogen industry associations. GHIAA’s mission is to accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy through close public–private cooperation across the world.
As of early 2025, GHIAA had brought together 28 major hydrogen associations from across continents, including:
Asia: H2KOREA (Korea), IHFCA (China), HFCAS (Singapore), JH2A (Japan)
Europe: Hydrogen Europe (EU), France Hydrogène (France), HEA (UK), DWV (Germany), AeH2 (Spain)
Americas: FCHEA (USA), CHA (Canada), H2 Chile (Chile), Hidrógeno Colombia
Oceania: AHC (Australia)
Each member association plays a leading role in shaping national policies, promoting research, developing markets, and building hydrogen ecosystems. GHIAA operates through annual General Assemblies, forums, and joint reports, forming a unified voice for policy advocacy, knowledge sharing, and cross-border project cooperation.
The 8th General Assembly: Seoul 2025 – A Milestone of Strategic Expansion
Held in Seoul—the home base of founding member H2KOREA—the 8th General Assembly took place at a time when global decarbonization commitments are accelerating and green hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a key pillar of the energy transition.
Key agenda items included:
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Review of 2025 activities: Progress reports on cooperation initiatives and GHIAA’s impact on global hydrogen policies.
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Discussion of major challenges: Focus on harmonizing international standards, financial mechanisms for large-scale projects, infrastructure development, and stimulating hydrogen demand in industry and mobility.
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Strategic direction for 2026–2030: Identifying priority areas for collaboration as many countries enter the commercial deployment phase of hydrogen projects.
Highlight: Admission of New Members and Observers
The most anticipated part of the conference was the official invitation and admission of two new observer organizations:
South African Hydrogen Association:
Representing Africa’s vast potential in green hydrogen production thanks to abundant renewable resources. Its participation opens the door for GHIAA to collaborate with an entire continent full of promise but still in need of technology, investment, and market development experience.
Vietnam ASEAN Hydrogen Club (VAHC):
Representing a dynamic Southeast Asian economy with fast-growing energy demand and strengthening green-transition commitments. VAHC’s participation reflects the international community’s recognition of this private hydrogen organization’s efforts in ecosystem building—from research and training to business networking and regional cooperation in ASEAN. It also opens major opportunities for Vietnamese hydrogen technology companies (such as HB-Green, Ikonomy) and VAHC’s domestic and international partners to access global knowledge, technologies, and cooperation networks.
This expansion is not merely a numerical increase. It reflects GHIAA’s strategic vision of building a truly global hydrogen network that spans both advanced technology centers and countries with significant production potential and future demand. This creates a virtuous circle of technology – production – market, driving the hydrogen economy toward balanced and sustainable growth.
Significance and Future Outlook
The 8th GHIAA General Assembly in Seoul successfully reinforced its role as the world’s leading cooperation platform for hydrogen. The event sent a strong message of openness, inclusiveness, and action-oriented collaboration.
With the participation of the South African Hydrogen Association and the Vietnam ASEAN Hydrogen Club, GHIAA has taken a significant step toward filling the “white spaces” on the global hydrogen map—connecting Asia, Europe, and Africa, and paving the way for new waves of South–South and South–North cooperation. In the future, these new members will contribute diverse perspectives, share practical lessons, and join GHIAA in fulfilling its mission: accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy with hydrogen at the heart of the future energy system.
The Seoul 2025 meeting is not just an annual assembly—it is a historic milestone, opening a new chapter in the global hydrogen journey, where every country, large or small, can find its place and its voice.
The 9th GHIAA General Assembly is scheduled to be held in Spain in March 2026. The VAHC representative at the 8th Assembly proposed hosting a future GHIAA General Assembly in Vietnam.
About the Global Hydrogen Industrial Association Alliance (GHIAA): https://ghiaa.net/eng/index.do
