South Korea to open its first urban hydrogen generating facility

Industry ministry announced that South Korea held a ceremony to honor the completion of a new hydrogen manufacturing plant in the city of Pyeongtaek, the first of its kind in the metropolitan area.

The base in Pyeongtaek, around 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is the second hydrogen manufacturing plant in the country, following the one in Changwon, which has been operational since the end of last year.

After completing the requisite tests, the Pyeongtaek plant is anticipated to be placed into operation the following month. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, it will be capable of producing up to 7 tons of hydrogen per day, enough to fuel 430,000 hydrogen-powered automobiles each year.

“The anticipated operation of the new plant is projected to reduce fuel distribution costs and increase the country’s hydrogen industry’s competitiveness,” the ministry stated in a press release.

Currently, Seoul and the metropolitan region surrounding it have 33 hydrogen filling stations.

South Korea has endeavored to establish a total of seven smaller-scale hydrogen production sites across the country by the end of this year, in an effort to promote the hydrogen economy as a new growth engine.

A hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle emits only water vapor when converting hydrogen into electricity to power the motor.

In response to stricter laws on greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists claim are to blame for global warming, automakers throughout the world have rushed to develop environmentally friendly vehicles.