"I'd Rather Go to Sejong Hydrogen Charging Station Than Wait 30 Minutes in Daejeon"

Seoul Hydrogen Vehicles at 1,431 Units, 14% Nationwide
Charging Stations Only 4 Units, Merely 6.9%
Gangwon-do Has Only One in Samcheok
Government Aims to Expand to 310 Stations by 2020
Must Build One Every 3.3 Days to Meet Goal
"Installation Subsidy Rate 50%" Improvement Demanded

A Sejong hydrogen refueling station official is seen refueling 5.5kg (550km driving range) of hydrogen. (Photo by Moon Chae-seok)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "If you go to Hakha Hydrogen Charging Station in Daejeon, you have to wait a long time with 5 to 6 cars lined up in front. It's actually faster to come to Sejong Charging Station."

On the afternoon of the 4th, at the Sejong Hydrogen Charging Station located in front of the Ministry of Health and Welfare building in Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Hyundai Nexo driver Mr. A, who lives in Daejeon, explained why he came all the way to Sejong instead of the nearby Hakha Charging Station in Daejeon.

It takes 5 minutes to fully refuel a hydrogen car Nexo. Waiting for 5 to 6 cars ahead means it takes at least 30 minutes just to charge. The round-trip distance between Hakha Charging Station and Sejong Charging Station is 53.8 km. He complained, "The hydrogen charging level and safety are fine, but the low accessibility and high price need to be urgently resolved."

Hydrogen high-pressure compression facility of 870 bar installed at Sejong hydrogen charging station. (Photo by Moon Chaeseok)

Although the government is accelerating the distribution of hydrogen cars, the speed of building hydrogen charging station infrastructure is not keeping up. Accordingly, voices of inconvenience continue to arise on site.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Environment on the 10th, regions where charging stations are insufficient compared to the number of hydrogen vehicles (based on registration) are Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon. Seoul has 1,431 hydrogen cars, accounting for 14.3% of the nation, but only 4 charging stations, which is just 6.9%. The Yangjae Charging Station is undergoing a full renovation and will open in January next year.

Gangwon has 821 registered hydrogen cars (8.2% of the nation), but only one charging station, the Samcheok Charging Station (1.7% of the nation). Moreover, since a high-pressure container leak accident occurred at the Cheongju Dowon Charging Station involving the American company CPI, 'high-pressure hydrogen' has been prohibited, and since August, only 50% can be charged at a time.

Hydrogen fuel transported every morning from Sejong Hydrogen Charging Station, located 104km away, to SPG Chemical Dangjin Plant in Donggok-ri, Songsan-myeon, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do. (Photo by Moon Chaeseok)

The government plans to speed up the expansion of hydrogen charging stations, but there are many hurdles to overcome. Site selection and permit processes are complicated, and resident opposition must be overcome. To encourage private sector participation, the profitability issue of hydrogen charging stations must also be resolved.

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Environment convened the 'Hydrogen Charging Station Construction Advisory Group' to review the feasibility of about 110 candidate sites for hydrogen charging stations and issues related to permits. Generally, it takes 11 to 15 months to complete a hydrogen charging station. The process follows the stages of 'site selection → design → permits → technical review → construction and commissioning.' The government plans to install 310 stations by 2022, and to achieve this goal, they must build one station every 3.3 days (252 stations in the remaining 752 days).

Sejong Hydrogen Refueling Station charging facility. After turning off the engine and opening the fuel door, it takes exactly 5 minutes to fill 5.5kg of hydrogen (550km range). Then, you can proceed with card payment. (Photo by Moon Chae-seok)

According to the Ministry of Environment, there are currently 132 charging stations under permit or construction. Even if all 132 stations take nearly a year to build, there are still 120 stations that need site selection from scratch.

An official from the Ministry of Environment said, "The advisory group primarily reviewed the number of charging stations relative to the number of vehicles, the distance between charging stations and railroads or fire sources," adding, "Even if not among these 110 sites, we will continuously review candidate sites proposed by the Ministry of National Defense, oil companies, Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), etc., and strive to achieve the government’s target."

According to sources on the ground, to achieve the government's goal of "establishing 310 hydrogen charging stations by 2022," even outdoor parking lot facilities like these will have to be utilized. (Photo by Moon Chae-seok)

On site, there are calls to revise the current system where the government subsidy rate for installation grants is 50%. According to the Ministry of Environment, current hydrogen charging stations operate at an annual deficit of 150 million KRW due to high hydrogen purchase costs and a shortage of hydrogen cars. The government plans to support about 90 million KRW per charging station starting next year.

However, on site, this is said to be far from sufficient. Hong Wanho, director of Sejong Hydrogen Charging Station, said, "Operating subsidies alone make it difficult to properly cover initial investment costs and land rental fees, and it is hard to reach the break-even point," adding, "Increasing the government subsidy rate would strengthen private investment sentiment."

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