Hydrogen charging stations will become within 30 minutes drive across Korea over the next three years under the government’s ambitious push for a hydrogen economy to revitalize the country’s economy and promote clean fuel.

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Ministry of Environment on Tuesday announced detailed plans for the hydrogen roadmap to install 310 charging stations by 2022.

Of the total, 250 will be open at major cities – 190 for cars and 60 for buses – and the remaining 60 on expressways and transportation hubs.

This is based on estimates that an average 30,000 tons of hydrogen would be needed to fuel 67,000 vehicles, of which 65,000 are passenger cars and 2,000 are buses, powered by rechargeable fuel cells. The government early this year announced its hydrogen drive to place 67,000 units of hydrogen-powered electric cars on the roads by 2022.

The government is readying to add more stations to secure 86 locations by the year-end from current 31. In the longer term, it aims to have 660 chargers by 2030 and 1,200 by 2040, allowing fuel-cell car drivers to have faster access to charging stations of less than 20 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively.

The locations for hydrogen stations will be selected after careful study on the number of registered vehicles, the population, the size and the traffic of each city. Regional governments also are planning to introduce various ways of production, storage and distribution to meet the rising demand for hydrogen.

Hydrogen fuel prices will be managed by a distribution committee to be formed, and then controlled by the market in the long term with various efforts to achieve stable supplies and reduce costs such as the construction of large tube trailers and pipelines, the distribution of liquid hydrogen, and the localization of key parts and materials for building refueling facilities.

Related laws and regulations will also be reviewed and revised for safety.

“With the latest plans, the government will keep up efforts to speed up planned actions and follow-up measures to bring economical, convenient and safe zero-emissions fuel infrastructure and stations across the country,” said a government official.

The Korean government has vowed to clean the air and bring innovation to the country’s economy by promoting the hydrogen economy. It is actively cooperating with the country’s auto giant Hyundai Motor Group, which is believed to have the world’s leading hydrogen fuel-cell car technology.

By Lee Ha-yeon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]