- Hyundai Motor and Discovery join forces to produce original series of documentary short series A Better Way, exploring zero emission mobility
- Swiss explorer and environmentalist Bertrand Piccard takes the viewer on a journey through European locations shaping the zero emission mobility revolution
- Dr.-Ing Saehoon Kim, Executive Vice President & Head of Fuel Cell Center at Hyundai Motor Group, discusses Hyundai’s pioneering vision, spirit, and capabilities regarding hydrogen fuel cell technology
- Three-part series to reach a global audience through Discovery’s network of brands and digital platforms
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The series sees Swiss explorer, environmentalist, and Hyundai brand ambassador Bertrand Piccard explore the vision, reality, and perceptions around the zero emission mobility of the present and the future.
The episodes will be released across Discovery’s broad global network of brands and digital platforms, including distribution via NowThis, Seeker and Eurosport starting March 29 at 8 pm CET. The partnership will also see Eurosport and Hyundai Motor release motorsport content in collaboration with PURE ETCR – the world’s first all-electric multi-brand touring car championship, set to launch in June – organised by Eurosport’s event management and promotion division, Eurosport Events.
Hyundai is truly a pioneer in electric mobility, including our research into fuel cell technology which began nearly twenty years ago. Today, the unrivalled diversity of our product line-up shows how our efforts have come to fruition. This documentary really showcases our pioneering spirit, focusing not just on our goals for the future, but also what we’ve already accomplished. With the great strides we’ve made in advancing zero-emission mobility, Hyundai has really proved that there is a Better Way to make progress.
We’re pleased to join Hyundai and support the mission to shift the global perception of mobility by informing, educating and inspiring our audiences about state-of-the-art sustainable solutions, including electric and hydrogen vehicles, that are driving real change. Our partnership with Hyundai showcases the exciting future of clean mobility through engaging and entertaining original content that will be brought to viewers through Discovery global scale and portfolio of brands and platforms.
Hyundai leading the mobility revolution
The idea for the series came from a desire to inform and inspire people about the mobility revolution, with a particular focus on fuel cell technology – one of Hyundai’s biggest areas of expertise. The viewer has a chance to meet the creative visionaries driving forward electric mobility, learn about real-world applications of hydrogen fuel cell technology in Switzerland today, and have their perceptions challenged by encountering zero emission vehicles in one of the most demanding fields: high-performance motorsport.
The company partnered with world-record holder and Swiss environmental enthusiast Bertrand Piccard to tell the story through his expert perspective and to meet with other pioneers who share their vision.
I’ve learned in my own life that having a vision with a pioneering spirit is crucial but it’s nothing without action! If you’re trying to completely change the way of doing things, turning a revolutionary idea into reality, then you better get rid of all your previous believes. I desperately want to witness the vision of a hydrogen society become a reality – to really move beyond the combustion engine, and fossil fuel dependency.
Zero emission mobility: the vision, the reality, and the perception
The first episode is filmed in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva. It is also the home of the Solar Impulse Foundation, an organisation founded by Piccard dedicated to finding profitable solutions to environmental problems. In this three-minute video, Piccard meets with the pioneers behind Hyundai’s future mobility revolution: Michael Cole, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, and Dr.-ing Saehoon Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Fuel Cell Center at Hyundai Motor Group. The episode begins with the visionaries sharing their thoughts on the energy future, and ends with Piccard taking a ride in the all-new IONIQ 5 around the stunning Swiss scenery – becoming the first person in Europe to test the ground-breaking new EV.
The second episode takes place in Gösgen, Switzerland, a small town which is playing a big role in the energy revolution. Piccard takes the viewer to visit a hydroelectric plant that is one of the first places in Europe to produce emissions-free hydrogen fuel.
For the third episode, Piccard travels to Monte Carlo, home to one of the most famous motorsport rallies in the world. There, he meets with Albert II, Prince of Monaco, to discuss how all-electric racing can change the perception of both electro-mobility and motorsport.
The mobility revolution will take broad coordination and cooperation. Together with our partners, subsidiaries, joint ventures, and visionaries, I’m proud of the role Hyundai is playing in shaping this clean future. We will continue to be a source of positive, revolutionary change throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
The unique series is produced by Discovery’s Creative Brand Solutions team, which sits within its marketing offer to enhance content opportunities for international partners, and its Group Nine and Seeker brands. Discovery’s creative studio delivers new creative content together with some of the world’s biggest brands, helping them to connect with their audiences at scale in a deeper and more meaningful way. It is directed by London-based documentary filmmaker Simon Waldron.
About Bertrand Piccard
Bertrand Piccard is a renowned pioneer who stands for innovative mobility solutions. A scientist, psychiatrist, inventor, and explorer, he was the first person to travel around the world in a balloon. In 2016, he circumnavigated the globe again, this time with a revolutionary solar-powered airplane called Solar Impulse. In 2019, he broke the world record for the longest distance travelled in a fuel cell vehicle by driving 778 km across France in a Hyundai NEXO, meeting several prominent figures along the way. A dedicated proponent of eco-mobility, he started the Solar Impulse Foundation to promote innovative, environmentally-friendly solutions to various challenges of our time.
Piccard has been a Brand Ambassador for Hyundai in France since 2017, and began working with Hyundai on a pan-European level in 2020. The shared progressive spirit and dedication to finding innovative solutions to protect the environment have made this partnership a success.
About Discovery
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and nearly 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Eurosport Player, Food Network Kitchen and MotorTrend OnDemand; digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media; a landmark natural history and factual content partnership with the BBC; and a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. Discovery’s portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and the forthcoming multi-platform JV with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit corporate.discovery.com and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
About Eurosport
Eurosport is the number one sport destination in Europe, fuelling the passion of fans and connecting them with the greatest sports events in the world. As the Home of the Olympic Games in Europe, Eurosport delivered the ultimate Games experience for PyeongChang 2018 reaching both record linear and digital viewership across localized Eurosport services. Firmly established as the Home of Cycling, Grand Slam Tennis and Winter Sport, Eurosport channels – Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 – reach 246 million cumulative subscribers across 75 countries in Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Eurosport.com is Europe’s No 1 online sports news website with an average of 30 million unique users per month and, along with the Eurosport app (available on iOS and Android), the only place to watch Eurosport anytime online, on mobile and on tablet devices. Eurosport Events specializes in the management and promotion of international sporting events. More information is available by visiting corporate.eurosport.com.
About PURE ETCR
Debuting in 2021, PURE ETCR is the world’s first all-electric, multi-brand touring car championship. Promoted by Eurosport Events Ltd and supported by founding partners Goodyear and TAG Heuer, PURE ETCR is the only series where the world’s biggest car manufacturers can showcase their road-going electric vehicles while competing for international titles. Developed to WSC’s ETCR technical concept, PURE ETCR’s cars are the most powerful and fastest-accelerating touring cars ever made, with a peak power of 500kW equal to 670bhp. Drivers compete in an action-packed series of on-track knockout battles with the overall winner crowned as each event’s King or Queen and losers eliminated from competition at each stage. The 2021 season comprises six events in Europe and Asia, held over a combination of punishing street circuits and classic permanent courses, all rewarding the driver who proves fastest in a pure test of speed and racecraft.
About Group Nine Media
Group Nine has the most optimistic, fast moving, deeply connected brands in the categories that matter NOW. As the #1 video publisher on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, June 2020], Group Nine’s brands are built for the platforms where young people spend the majority of their time. We reach over 80% of Americans in their 20s every month [Nielsen DCR, June 2020]. Audiences spend nearly 90 million hours a month engaging with our category-defining brands [platform analytics, June 2020] - NowThis, the no. 1 most-watched news and politics brand globally on social [Tubular Labs, May 2020]; The Dodo, the #1 media brand for reach on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, November 2019]; POPSUGAR, the #1 most engaged-with Women’s Lifestyle site in the U.S. [Comscore, February 2020]; Thrillist, the most-trusted digital brand in food, drink, travel & entertainment; and Seeker, the no. 1 science brand on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, April 2020]. Group Nine has been recognized with hundreds of prestigious awards including Edward R. Murrow, James Beard, Cannes Lions, Critic’s Choice, among others.
About Seeker
Seeker is the #1 science brand on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, December 2019]. We empower the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe. We encourage our viewers to question, dream and create. In December 2016, Seeker joined forces with Thrillist, The Dodo and NowThis to form Group Nine Media -- the #1 video publisher on mobile in the U.S. [Nielsen DCR, November 2019].