This year, the government and the agency will collaborate to supply and distribute hydrogen for mobility under the auspices of a consultative group. 91 chargers will be constructed, and 17,000 hydrogen vehicles will be delivered. In order to create the infrastructure for a steady hydrogen supply and demand, three liquefaction plants and six hydrogen production bases will be finished this year.
The “Hydrogen Supply and Demand Consultation Group for Mobility” was established on March 23 and presented by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy at the Coal Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, under the leadership of Cheon Young-gil, head of the Energy Policy Office.
The Ministry of Industry, which is in charge of regulating hydrogen supply and demand, is the organization in charge of the consultation body. Korea Gas Corporation, which is in charge of hydrogen distribution, as well as the Ministries of the Environment and Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, hydrogen refueling station operators, and hydrogen vehicle manufacturers, participate in the demanding field. Producers and distributors of liquefied and gaseous hydrogen made up the supply sector. In matters of supply and demand, the Korea Gas Safety Corporation and the Petroleum Management Agency serve as advisors and supporters.
The consultative group made a general demand and supply prediction for hydrogen for mobility this year at the inaugural meeting that day.
This year, the Ministry of the Environment will provide 17,000 new hydrogen vehicles in total. 16,920 NEXOs, 700 buses, 100 trucks, and 120 cleaning vehicles will be delivered before the end of the year. Korea received 29,733 hydrogen-powered automobiles up until last year. There will be 47,000 more domestic hydrogen vehicles if the supply objective is met this year.
As a pilot initiative to promote the acquisition of fuel cell systems, the Ministry of Industry supports local governments that have a high level of desire to offer large-scale hydrogen buses. Business vehicles like buses, taxis, and trucks will be encouraged to be converted to hydrogen vehicles by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Infrastructure. This year, Hyundai will produce more hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles, including high-floor buses at full capacity.
This year, the council will also improve the infrastructure for the supply and demand of hydrogen. This year, the Ministry of the Environment will construct 91 more hydrogen chargers. The total number in Korea will increase to 320 this year after 229 hydrogen chargers were built there so far last year.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Infrastructure will increase the number of hydrogen refueling stations for each base used for transportation logistics this year. These bases include highway hydrogen refueling stations, hydrogen transportation complex bases, and hydrogen refueling stations for freight cars. This year, Highnet, a privately owned operator of hydrogen refueling stations, plans to add up to 17 new facilities, bringing the total to 54. By the end of this year, Coheizen, an operator of hydrogen refueling stations for commercial vehicles, expects to run eight stations altogether. To coincide with the completion of the liquefaction plant, SK E&S will construct 11 liquefaction filling stations before the end of the year.
This year, the consultative committee also devised a supply strategy that calls for building a base for hydrogen production, a liquefaction plant, and running a distributor of hydrogen.
In April, the 7-ton per day Pyeongtaek production base of Gas Technology Company, a manufacturer of gaseous hydrogen for transportation, will resume operations. The Gas Company will start construction on a production base in Changwon that can create 10 tons of hydrogen per day and a facility in Gwangju that can produce 4 tons of hydrogen in November. A small-scale production base that can produce 1 ton of hydrogen per day will also be created within the year at regional bases such Incheon, Daejeon, Busan, and Wanju in order to provide hydrogen close to the demand area. May will see the completion of Changwon’s liquid hydrogen facility, with Incheon and Ulsan’s liquefaction plants following in November and December, respectively.
This year, the hydrogen distributor will provide refueling stations with around 5,800 tons of hydrogen annually. Moreover, compressor expansion and shipping equipment supply are done.
The advisory committee anticipated that this year’s demand would be in the range of 10,000 tons due to the increased use of hydrogen-powered cars and that this year’s supply would be in the range of 15,000 tons due to the development of production facilities and liquefaction plants. Overall, it is anticipated that the supply and demand for hydrogen would be favorable. To avoid an imbalance in supply and demand by time and location, the consultative body will continuously evaluate the supply and demand situation because the development of production bases and liquefaction plants is concentrated in the second half of the year.
