SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The heir apparent of Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's biggest automotive company, will lead a global coalition to boost a hydrogen economy as part of efforts to help combat climate change.

Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun will take the wheel of the Hydrogen Council, a global initiative of more than 50 energy, transport and industry companies with a shared vision for hydrogen to foster the clean energy transition, the South Korean automaker said in a statement Thursday.

Chung will join incumbent co-chair Benoit Potier, chief executive of Air Liquide, to lead the Hydrogen Council that was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2017 to speed up investment in the development and the commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell sectors.

"Chung hopes to contribute to expediting the realization of a zero-emission hydrogen energy society, which will help address global climate challenges for future generations," said a Hyundai Motor Group spokesperson.

Chung's appointment came just a week after the South Korean government laid out a roadmap to foster a so-called "hydrogen economy" as a new growth engine.

Under the roadmap, the government planned to use hydrogen as the main source of energy for power generation as well as cars, aiming to increase the cumulative production of hydrogen-powered vehicles to 6.2 million by 2040.

Hyundai unveiled a long-term roadmap in December to expand its hydrogen business, aiming to increase its annual fuel-cell system production capacity to 700,000 units by 2030 that includes 500,000 units for fuel-cell electric vehicles.

Hyundai's fuel-cell system, which combines hydrogen fuel with oxygen taken from the air to produce electricity, is known to emit only water as a by-product and help purify polluted air. The fuel-cell system involves fuel-cell stack and relevant components.