The South Korean government eager in backing hydrogen for carbon neutrality aims to have 10,000 units of fuel-cell vehicles for cargo delivery on the roads by 2030.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Thursday held an event to kickoff test-driving of hydrogen-powered delivery trucks at the KINTEX Exhibition Center in Gyeonggi Province, joined by the truck developer Hyundai Motor Co. and logistics names CJ Logistics Corp., Hyundai Glovis Co. and Coupang Corp.

Under the project, five units of 11-ton hydrogen trucks will be test run for delivery services – two by CJ Logistics and Hyundai Glovis and one by Coupang. Each delivery company will collect data necessary to expand the hydrogen logistics system in Korea by using the truck for delivery of 1,000-1,500 times.

Greenhouse gases emitted from delivery vehicles are estimated at 2,800 tons per year, taking up nearly 30 percent of all emissions in the transport sector.

With the hydrogen delivery trucks, “carbon neutrality in the cargo delivery sector will be accelerated,” said Hong Jeong-kee, Vice Minister of Environment.

The government vowed various support measures including technical support for hydrogen truck development, building of two charging stations for hydrogen delivery trucks every year, and subsidies on the truck purchases of up to 450 million won ($379,426.64) per unit.

The government also announced its roadmap for regulatory innovation for self-driving on the same day with an aim to release the Level 3 autonomous vehicle in 2022 and commercialize the Level car by 2027.

Hyundai Motor’s Roboride self-driving cab, built on Hyundai Ioniq 5 based on Level 4 self-driving technology, will hit the Seoul roads in the first half of next year.

By Song Min-geun, Chun Gyung-woon and Lee Ha-yeon

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