Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera says elimination of EV subsidies will encourage technological development from automakers

Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera (Hyundai Motor Group)
Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera (Hyundai Motor Group)

Hyundai Motor and Georgia Tech announced a multidecade partnership to work together in research and applications to support the future of sustainable mobility, hydrogen economy and workforce development in August 2023.

About a year and a half later, Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera underlines that the US university’s collaboration with Hyundai has been a win-win situation for both sides.

“Our students love technology and I think Hyundai has become synonymous with technology,” Cabrera told The Korea Herald in an interview in Seoul on Jan. 23.

Hyundai Motor has decided to invest $12.6 billion in constructing a new electric vehicle-dedicated manufacturing plant and battery production sites in Georgia in partnerships with Korean battery firms LG Energy Solution and SK On.

“Hyundai is already actively recruiting students, and Georgia Tech students want to work for innovative companies,” said Cabrera.

“They see companies that are doing things differently and I think that's really the advantage that Hyundai has. … The power of Hyundai is that it has a very exciting sense of purpose and project for the future.”

Asked whether the pledge by the administration of US President Donald Trump to remove government subsidies for electric vehicles may hinder the growth of the EV sector, toward which Hyundai continues to move, the Georgia Tech president dismissed the concern.

“I don’t think necessarily that the new administration is anti-EV,” said Cabrera. “What they may challenge, if you will, is the subsidies. So the idea is: Let the market develop the technology. I think the future of mobility is going to be electric.”

Proudly noting that he bought the Ioniq 5, Hyundai’s award-wining EV, for himself seven months ago as his first pure electric vehicle, Cabrera expressed with confidence that customers will not want to go back to internal combustion engine-powered cars once they experience an EV.

“So we’re right now exploring a co-location of Hyundai staff inside of our facilities to do research there,” he said, adding that there are currently about 10 ongoing joint research projects between the school and the automaker in areas such as EV and battery technologies.

Representatives from Hyundai Motor Group and the Georgia Institute of Technology, including Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun (third from right) and Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera (second from left), pose for a photo during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at Georgia Tech in Atlanta in September 2023. (Hyundai Motor Group)
Representatives from Hyundai Motor Group and the Georgia Institute of Technology, including Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun (third from right) and Georgia Tech President Angel Cabrera (second from left), pose for a photo during a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony at Georgia Tech in Atlanta in September 2023. (Hyundai Motor Group)

The Georgia Tech president underscored that his team visited not only Hyundai’s research sites, but also joint labs with top Korean schools such as Seoul National University and Hanyang University to better understand some of the big questions that Hyundai is facing.

According to Cabrera, his delegation also met with officials from Samsung, Doosan and Hanwha during their visit to Korea to discuss various topics. Georgia Tech has collaborated with Samsung and Doosan in research areas of software technology and hydrogen turbines. Hanwha is building a large solar panel production site in Dalton, Georgia, about 145 kilometers away from Atlanta, which is the home of Georgia Tech.

As Georgia Tech’s mission to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition aligns with Hyundai’s "Progress for Humanity" vision, the Georgia Tech president emphasized that the automaker and school always strive for innovation.

“Hyundai is not just building traditional cars. Hyundai is always trying to figure out how to build the new technology of vehicles,” said Cabrera.

“Just because cars have always used internal combustion engines doesn’t mean that the future has to be there. … About 10 years ago, we started offering master’s programs online. People thought top universities cannot do that online and it’s (going to) hurt the brand.”

With now three online master's courses available for computer science, data analytics and cybersecurity, the Georgia Tech president highlighted that there are about 20,000 students enrolled in remote classes to make up the largest master's programs in the world.

Regarding Hyundai’s presence in the US, Cabrera, who was in Atlanta as a student in the 1990s before leaving and returning as the president of Georgia Tech in 2019, touted the growth of the brand.

“Now you see Hyundai cars everywhere,” he said. “It’s become really one of the biggest brands right now in the US.”