Completion of Pyeongtaek Hydrogen Production Base... First Hydrogen Supply Hub in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Pyeongtaek Hydrogen Production Base Completion Ceremony... First Hydrogen Supply Hub in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
Daily Production of 7 Tons of Hydrogen... Annual Supply for 430,000 Hydrogen Vehicles
Park Il-jun: "Important Foundation for Hydrogen Economy... Promoting Institutional Support"

On the 1st, Park Il-jun, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, visited Mokhwa Altteul Gas Station in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where the fuel tax reduction rate was expanded from 30% to 37%, and inspected the gasoline delivery process. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Pyeongtaek Hydrogen Production Base, the first hydrogen supply hub in the Seoul metropolitan area, has been completed. Some hydrogen charging stations are expected to reduce transportation costs by about half.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 27th that it held a completion ceremony for the Pyeongtaek Hydrogen Production Base located in the Asan National Industrial Complex in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. The ceremony was attended by Park Il-jun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Cho Yong-don, President of Korea Gas Technology Corporation. Vice Minister Park said, "The Pyeongtaek production base will be an important foundation within the metropolitan area leading the transition to a hydrogen economy," adding, "We plan to promptly promote institutional support such as introducing a clean hydrogen certification system and opening a hydrogen power generation market."

The Pyeongtaek Hydrogen Production Base is the first hydrogen supply hub in the Seoul metropolitan area. Since 2019, the Ministry has been promoting a project to establish small-scale hydrogen production bases in seven regions nationwide. This is to resolve the regional concentration of hydrogen production bases focused on petrochemical complexes such as Daesan, Ulsan, and Yeosu. Small-scale hydrogen production bases produce hydrogen from city gas and supply fuel directly near demand sites.

The hydrogen production volume is considerable. The Pyeongtaek Hydrogen Production Base can produce up to 7 tons of hydrogen daily. This is enough to supply fuel for 430,000 hydrogen vehicles annually. Initially, the Ministry aimed to produce 1 ton of hydrogen per day with a budget of 5 billion KRW. However, considering future hydrogen demand, Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongtaek City additionally invested 18.15 billion KRW, significantly increasing production capacity beyond the original plan.

The Pyeongtaek base will begin full-scale hydrogen production from next month after trial operations. The Ministry expects hydrogen distribution prices to decrease with the operation of the Pyeongtaek base. Thirty-three hydrogen charging stations in the metropolitan area will switch their hydrogen supply source from remote locations such as the Daesan Petrochemical Complex to the Pyeongtaek base, reducing transportation costs by about 50%.

Meanwhile, some hydrogen production processes at the Pyeongtaek base applied domestically produced hydrogen purifiers. These products were developed by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology and commercialized by the domestic company Wonil T&I. A Ministry official explained, "The domestically produced hydrogen purifier used at the Pyeongtaek base was designated as an innovative product by the Public Procurement Service in 2020," adding, "As production performance accumulates, it is expected that the domestic use of this equipment will expand and overseas advancement will also be anticipated."

The Ministry plans to complete the project to establish seven small-scale hydrogen production bases nationwide within this year. Additionally, the Ministry plans to further support the establishment of clean hydrogen production bases equipped with water electrolysis and carbon capture functions by 2026.

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