Korea: hydrogen cars, self-charging, regulations in the sector

The first self-hydrogen charging station in Korea, at Incheon International Airport (T2), was visited by Vice Minister Park Il-Joon of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy to show off self-charging.

Self-charging is not permitted at domestic hydrogen refueling stations due to safety concerns, in contrast to self-refueling and self-charging at petrol stations and electric charging stations. Self-charging should be permitted, as it is in other nations like the US and Japan, many people said, in order to increase the convenience of hydrogen car owners and ensure the financial viability of hydrogen filling stations.

After receiving regulatory sandbox approval in December of last year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy made the decision to permit hydrogen self-charging and created safety management rules for self-charging, safety tools like charging nozzle drop prevention devices and charging control programs.

In order to encourage commercial activity while guaranteeing safety in the hydrogen industry, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce made the decision to swiftly execute 19 safety-related regulatory improvement projects, including self-charging. After conducting a thorough investigation and meeting with the hydrogen industry and related organizations last June, the Ministry of Industry chose these regulatory improvement tasks. They included 7 cases relating to production, 4 cases relating to storage and transportation, and 8 cases relating to charging stations and utilization.

This goal also entails reducing the distance between hydrogen charging stations and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) charging stations and diversifying the types of gates at hydrogen charging stations. So long as the structural strengths of the concrete block and steel plate constructions are comparable, it can be used for the protective wall of the hydrogen charging station, where only reinforced concrete buildings are permitted.

“We will continue to discover regulatory innovation tasks that can benefit both users and businesses while protecting people’s lives and safety in the field of energy safety as well as the hydrogen industry, and actively improve them to revitalize the business environment,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said.