Gas Corporation to Establish Converged Hydrogen Refueling Stations in Changwon and Tongyeong... Target Completion in 2022

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Korea Gas Corporation recently announced on the 15th that it is focusing on establishing eco-friendly mobility charging stations, including being selected as a pilot project operator for the hydrogen transportation complex base in Changwon and Tongyeong, Gyeongnam Province.

The "Hydrogen Transportation Complex Base Construction Project," promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is a project to create a model hydrogen charging station with complex functions by installing large-capacity hydrogen charging facilities, convenience facilities, hydrogen production facilities, and related auxiliary facilities together at key points with high transportation demand such as transfer centers, railway stations, and garages.

Through a local government contest, the Ministry selected Pyeongtaek City as the pilot project site for the hydrogen transportation complex base in December last year, and Chuncheon, Ansan, Changwon, Chungju, and Tongyeong as five candidate pilot project sites. The Pyeongtaek complex base project will be promoted this year, and the five candidate sites will be gradually promoted after 2022.

KOGAS, which applied for the contest in collaboration with Changwon and Tongyeong cities and was selected for both locations, plans to play a role in constructing and operating the hydrogen transportation complex bases together with the respective local governments.

The Changwon and Tongyeong complex base construction project involving KOGAS is being promoted as an LNG-based convergence charging station, aiming for completion in 2022.

The LNG-based convergence charging station is a charging station capable of refueling various vehicle fuels such as hydrogen, LNG, CNG, and electricity, and can be configured according to the characteristics of vehicle demand in the respective regions. Since it can supply fuel to multiple vehicle types, improvements in consumer convenience and charging station profitability are also expected.

A KOGAS official said, "Through the construction of the Changwon and Tongyeong hydrogen transportation complex bases, we will promote eco-friendliness for the 14,000 logistics trucks entering and exiting Jinhae New Port (Changwon) daily, and contribute to Tongyeong City's plan to supply 113 hydrogen buses by 2030."

Meanwhile, KOGAS is also preparing to build hydrogen charging stations linked to the Ministry of Environment's pilot project for biogas hydrogenation facilities. The Ministry of Environment's biogas hydrogenation facility pilot project is a representative Green New Deal project that converts existing waste treatment facilities into energy production facilities.

In addition, KOGAS, as the largest shareholder of HyNet, a special purpose corporation for hydrogen charging station construction, plans to complete the Gimhae manufactured hydrogen charging station and Daegu Innovation City charging station, which it is directly building, within this year.

A KOGAS official said, "Along with supplying hydrogen extracted from natural gas, we will promote the production and supply of green hydrogen using renewable energy and biogas, becoming an eco-friendly energy public corporation that contributes to revitalizing South Korea's hydrogen economy."

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