A hydrogen production complex capable of supplying fuel for 410,000 hydrogen vehicles per year opened in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province. It is the first of its kind in the Korean capital region and the second in the nation after the facility in Changwon City – the capital of South Gyeongsang Province – which has been operating since the end of last year.
Gyeonggi Province expects that the Pyeongtaek complex will become a bridgehead in the hydrogen energy era. “One of the future challenges we must overcome is climate change,” said Gyeonggi Governor Dong Yeon Kim. “We will do our utmost to promote the hydrogen economy as one of the measures for dealing with the climate crisis, centering on the Pyeongtaek hydrogen production complex.”
“The Pyeongtaek complex will be the largest hydrogen production base in South Korea, producing more than seven tons of hydrogen a day. I have no doubt that this complex will play a key role in the carbon neutral era,” he added.
Previously, Governor Kim pledged to create a “hydrogen fusion cluster” in the cities of Pyeongtaek and Ansan, and make it a key hub for the hydrogen industry through linkage with specialized industries in the region.
Following the construction of the hydrogen production complex, Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongtaek City plan to build a hydrogen transportation complex connected to hydrogen refueling stations near Pyeongtaek Port and to create a “hydrogen city” that uses hydrogen as its main energy source.
The Pyeongtaek complex was selected in December 2019 for the Hydrogen Production Complex Construction Project promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, entailing a total project cost of KRW 23 billion (USD 17.5 million).
Most of the 33 hydrogen refueling stations currently operating in the Korean capital region (20 in Gyeonggi Province, seven in Seoul, and six in Incheon) are supplied with hydrogen from remote locations such as Daesan, Ulsan, and Yeosu, which are more than 120 kilometers away on average. As the completion of this hub stands to substantially reduce hydrogen transportation costs, the provincial government expects the hydrogen supply price in the capital region area to drop as well.
Source: Gyeonggi Provincial Government
