Hanwha Solutions, a South Korean clean energy company, has teamed up with Hyundai’s logistics division to supply hydrogen fuel for charging stations in expressway service areas.
The collaboration will help to popularize hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which have been largely ignored by consumers due to a lack of charging stations.
In South Korea, more than 11,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs) are in use, with 60 hydrogen charging stations. For safety reasons, many charging stations are located on the outskirts of cities and rural areas, so FCEV drivers in urban areas may have to travel more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) from their home to a hydrogen fuel charging station. On expressways, finding hydrogen stations is extremely difficult.
Hanwha Solutions announced on May 27 that it will provide 48 tons of hydrogen fuel for two years, beginning in July 2021, for use at hydrogen stations in expressway service areas. “Through this supply agreement, we will continue to increase hydrogen fuel supply volume and develop a value chain-based infrastructure.”
Hanwha’s fuel is green hydrogen, which produces no greenhouse gases during the manufacturing process. Hanwha’s sodium hydroxide factory in Yeosu, about 320 kilometers (198 miles) south of Seoul, produces hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen will be purified and converted into fuel using electrolysis of sodium chloride (salt) and water.
