Gwangju City Accelerates Efforts to Build Hydrogen Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City is accelerating the establishment of hydrogen vehicle charging infrastructure by building a hydrogen convergence energy demonstration center and advancing hydrogen charging technology.

According to Gwangju City on the 2nd, the city has established the nation's first 'Hydrogen Convergence Energy Demonstration Center' within the Jingok Industrial Complex, leading the development of new hydrogen charging station technologies and addressing issues such as charging station failure prediction and charging wait times.

Starting this month, domestically developed hydrogen extractors, water electrolyzers, vehicle chargers, and distributed power generation facilities have been installed, beginning trial operations and initiating field environment demonstrations of full-cycle hydrogen charging station products. In the second half of the year, a vehicle safety evaluation system will be introduced to develop vehicle safety standards such as charging protocols.

Additionally, last year, the city was selected for projects including 'Development of Commercial Technology for Hydrogen Charging Station Failure Prediction and Safety Management' and 'Development of Core Technologies for Metropolitan Hydrogen Charging Stations for Simultaneous Multi-Model Hydrogen Electric Vehicle Charging,' accelerating the advancement and efficiency of hydrogen charging technology and the localization of components to discover future new industries.

In particular, the high-speed charging system to be applied at the 'Metropolitan Hydrogen Charging Station for Simultaneous Multi-Model Hydrogen Electric Vehicle Charging,' planned to be built in the Advanced 3 District, is the world's first developed item and is expected to have a significant ripple effect across the hydrogen industry.

Along with this, Gwangju City, which currently operates four charging stations in Jingok, Donggok, Imam, and Byeokjin, plans to add two more hydrogen charging stations in Wolchul and Jangdeung-dong, Buk-gu, this year.

Currently, there are 802 passenger hydrogen electric vehicles and 6 buses in operation within the jurisdiction. The city plans to install 3 to 4 additional hydrogen charging stations annually, aiming to establish a total of 50 hydrogen charging stations in major areas by 2030.

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau of the city, said, “Gwangju has laid the foundation for innovation in the hydrogen industry ecosystem based on the nation's first hydrogen convergence energy demonstration center, including localization of core charging station components, development of safety management technologies, and establishment of metropolitan hydrogen charging stations. As hydrogen-related local companies are expected to be revitalized centered on future vehicles, we will strive to secure market leadership and create many high-quality jobs.”

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