10.12.2025 Press release

Hyundai Motor and Healthy Seas Celebrate Five Years of Global Ocean Conservation and Education Leadership

Hyundai Motor’s collaboration with Healthy Seas has removed 320 tons of marine litter, such as ‘ghost nets’ and various plastics, and expanded globally
Suitable recovered nets are recycled into new products to promote a circular economy, such as floormats made from ECONYL® yarn for Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, IONIQ 9, INSTER, SANTA FE and NEXO in Europe
The partnership delivers impactful education programs for schoolchildren, fostering environmental stewardship
Hyundai Motor pledges continued commitment to sustainability and community-driven initiatives

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Hyundai Motor Company is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its partnership with the Healthy Seas Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to removing marine litter and restoring ocean ecosystems.

This collaboration has become a benchmark for responsible growth and global community engagement, achieving significant milestones and setting ambitious targets for the future.

The partnership is deeply rooted in Hyundai Motor’s ‘Progress for Humanity’ vision and aligned with its Creating Shared Value (CSV) strategy, whose three pillars ‘Earth,’ ‘Hope’ and ‘Mobility’ guide numerous initiatives. The first two pillars play a key role in the work with Healthy Seas, creating direct environmental impact and providing educational activities that bring hope to new generations.

We are proud to mark five years of achievements with Healthy Seas and remain deeply committed to this meaningful collaboration. Together, we are not only restoring ecosystems but also educating and inspiring communities worldwide to build a more sustainable future.

Dongchul Hwang Vice President and Head of the Future Business & Sustainability Group at Hyundai Motor Company

A Shared Mission for Cleaner Seas

Healthy Seas works to protect marine ecosystems by removing discarded fishing nets and other harmful marine debris. Since the partnership began in 2021, the initiative has expanded globally, spanning Europe, Korea and the United States.

Efforts have focused on cleanup operations, including shore, water and deep-sea dives, which yield immediate benefits for biodiversity and local communities. Recovered marine waste is sorted, and suitable fishing nets are sent to Aquafil, where they are regenerated into ECONYL® yarn alongside other discarded nylon materials. This thread is used to create more eco-conscious products, such as the car floormats included in most of the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, IONIQ 9, INSTER, SANTA FE and NEXO models in Europe.

Highlights of the collaboration include the removal of 320 tons of marine litter across 10 countries. The ‘Ghost Farms’ operations, exclusively supported by Hyundai Motor reclaimed underwater habitats by removing abandoned aquaculture sites. These facilities become environmental hazards as they release debris, plastic and pollutants into the surrounding waters, disrupting marine ecosystems and harming marine life.

Fostering Future Generations with Environmental Education

Aligned with Hyundai Motor’s Creating Shared Value (CSV) strategy and its Hope pillar, education plays a key role in the partnership. Workshops, interactive activities and virtual reality (VR) experiences, have reached 4,861 participants worldwide.

An example of further collaboration was initiated between Hyundai Motor, Healthy Seas and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), hosting an environmental education program featuring the ‘SVan,’ a mobile robotics lab built into a Hyundai STARIA. This initiative allowed students and teachers to explore marine conservation solutions and learned how technology can contribute, particularly through the robots developed by the TUM.

Global Expansion and Continued Impact

The Hyundai x Healthy Seas partnership has continuously evolved, growing its global reach and impactful initiatives. Key milestones include:

2021: Launched the partnership across seven European countries; conducted the first-ever cleanup of an abandoned fish farm in Ithaca, Greece.
2022: Returned to Ithaca for a large-scale cleanup; expanded activities to Korea; introduced the first education events in partnership with Tate in the UK.
2023: Introduced activities in the U.S.; conducted the first cleanup at UNESCO World Heritage Lake Ohrid.
2024: Cleaned up three abandoned fish farms in Greece; launched university-level education on ghost farms.
2025: Featured the partnership at the Ocean Conference and recognized it in a virtual session of the UN Ocean Conference

Over these five years, our partnership with Hyundai has become a holistic model of ocean stewardship – combining large-scale cleanup operations, circular innovation, collaboration with fishing communities, and education for future generations. This partnership shows what is possible when industry and environmental organizations work together: practical results today and meaningful change for the future of our seas.

Veronika Mikos Director of Healthy Seas

A Continued Commitment to Sustainability

Hyundai Motor’s partnership with Healthy Seas reflects its dedication to addressing global challenges through innovative and durable solutions under its CSV pillars: Earth, Hope and Mobility. By integrating marine conservation with community empowerment, the company reinforces its commitment to preserving ecosystems and uplifting future generations

Header image credit: Yongkyu Kim, Pohang University of Science and Technology

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