Gangwon-do's First Expressway Hydrogen Charging Station to Operate from the 26th of This Month

Open Year-Round from 8 AM to 10 PM

Hydrogen Charging Station at Chuncheon Rest Area [Provided by Chuncheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The first hydrogen charging station on a highway in Gangwon Province will be operational starting this month.

Chuncheon City announced on the 19th, "We have recently completed the construction of a hydrogen charging station at Chuncheon Rest Area and will begin commercial operation from the 26th of this month."

With the province's first hydrogen charging station entering commercial operation, the inconvenience experienced by hydrogen vehicle users in the Chuncheon area, who had no hydrogen charging stations until now, is expected to decrease.

The hydrogen charging station built at Chuncheon Rest Area can charge 5 vehicles per hour based on the Nexo hydrogen electric vehicle standard (5 kg).

The operating hours are from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. year-round without holidays, and the charging time is about 6 minutes, allowing a maximum driving range of over 600 km when fully charged.

For hydrogen electric vehicles registered in Chuncheon City, customer cards will be issued to provide a discount of 650 KRW on the charging fee, equivalent to the hydrogen electric vehicle toll fee. However, card issuance is only available at the Chuncheon Rest Area hydrogen charging station.

Previously, the city signed an agreement with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Expressway Corporation, and Hydrogen Energy Network Co., Ltd. to build the hydrogen charging station. This is the first case nationwide of collaboration among local governments, the government, public enterprises, and private businesses to establish a hydrogen charging station.

The construction cost of the hydrogen charging station, totaling 3 billion KRW, was shared as follows: 1 billion KRW by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Korea Expressway Corporation), 500 million KRW by Chuncheon City, and the remaining 1.5 billion KRW by Hydrogen Energy Network Co., Ltd.

A city official stated, "We plan to expand the supply of hydrogen electric vehicles through the establishment of hydrogen charging infrastructure," adding, "We expect that the expansion of hydrogen electric vehicles will reduce pollutants such as fine dust."

Meanwhile, before commercial operation, a pilot operation will be conducted for three days on the 21st, 22nd, and 25th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., during which free charging of up to 3 kg per vehicle will be available.

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