[2020 National Audit] 5 out of 6 Hydrogen Refueling Station Safety Management Technology Projects Have 0% Localization Rate

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is watching the signing ceremony of the agreement representatives at the 'Commercial Vehicle Hydrogen Charging Station Construction MOU Signing Ceremony' held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 15th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Although the government is driving the hydrogen industry and investing massive budgets, it has been confirmed that securing fundamental technologies, which can be considered the basic foundation, is progressing slowly.

According to the 'Status of Safety Management Technology Development for Hydrogen Refueling Stations' submitted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 16th to Yang Geum-hee, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the People Power Party, among the six major project areas, five have a domestic localization progress rate of 0%. The remaining one area reached only about 50% compared to advanced countries' technology.

Since announcing the Hydrogen Economy Activation Roadmap last year, the government has been preparing support measures and institutional foundations for realizing the hydrogen economy, culminating in the enactment of the Hydrogen Economy Act this year. More than 7,000 hydrogen electric vehicles are already running on the roads, and hydrogen refueling stations installed in 37 locations, including the National Assembly, are in operation.

However, according to the status data on safety management technology development, which is the core of hydrogen refueling stations, none of the three major tasks in the 'Precision Safety Diagnosis' field have been domestically localized yet. These are essential technological elements to ensure the safety of hydrogen refueling stations, such as controlling static electricity, which is a cause of hydrogen explosions.

In another category, the 'Safety Evaluation' field, among the three major tasks, only the hydrogen refueling station risk assessment program has achieved about 50% technological catch-up compared to the United States and Germany.

Regardless of the slow pace of research and development, the government aims to build 310 hydrogen refueling stations by 2030 according to the roadmap. This requires constructing about 10 stations per month. To keep pace with the government's strong drive, the stations are currently being built mainly using foreign-made parts. Currently, 60% of hydrogen refueling station components are imported.

Assembly member Yang Geum-hee stated, "The Moon Jae-in administration's industrial and energy policies have been overly focused on achieving targets, causing a desynchronization phenomenon between the domestic industry's technological level and the dissemination goals," and added, "To truly realize the hydrogen economy, it is necessary to steadily build the basic foundation rather than rushing to achieve performance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.