Hyundai has developed a version of its new Ioniq 9 electric SUV to help repair areas of forest damaged by wildfire.
The custom Hyundai Ioniq 9 Seed Ball Drone Station turns the three-row SUV into a base for accessing remote areas of South Korea’s East Coast.
It follows Hyundai’s previous build of a drone monitoring station in 2023, which used a Ioniq 5 electric SUV to track reforesting efforts.
The new project in Uljin, South Korea, is one of Hyundai’s forestry schemes across 13 different countries, including the United States.
The all-terrain mobile office
In 2024, Hyundai entered into a five-year partnership with the Korea National Arboreta and Gardens Institute, a subsidiary of the Korea Forest Service.
This has led to building the bespoke Ioniq 9 Seed Ball Drone Station, which makes use of the flagship SUV’s spacious interior.
The Ioniq 9’s rear cabin has been transformed to host a swivel seat, dual monitors and a dedicated drone operation PC. Having a functional mobile office allows for reforesting work to be targeted more accurately.
In addition, the Ioniq 9’s vehicle-to-load (V2L) system means the Seed Ball Drone can be charged directly from the SUV’s own high-voltage battery.
A global forestry challenge
The Ioniq 9’s off-road ability allows the team to travel directly to areas that require reforesting. Once charged, the Seed Ball Drone can then be flown to locations that would be difficult to be access.
The drone disperses a number of seed balls while in the air. Clay spheres that contain a mixture of soil, organic matter and seeds, are dropped directly onto the ground in need of reforesting.
Hyundai hopes that by being able to disperse a wide number of seed balls rapidly across affected areas, reforesting efforts in Uljin will be faster than by using traditional methods.
The Uljin reforestation will contribute to Hyundai’s Ioniq Forest project, a global scheme launched in 2016, which encompasses countries such as Brazil, Vietnam and the United States.
Hyundai plans to roll-out its Ioniq-based drone stations to these forest projects in the near future.
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