SK E&S Advances 'Hydrogen Advanced City Busan' Project... Supporting Busan Expo Bid

SK E&S, Ministry of Environment, Busan City, Hyundai Motor, and Others Sign MOU
Early Establishment of Eco-Friendly Hydrogen Public Transportation and Infrastructure

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] SK E&S is supporting the bid for the ‘2030 Busan World Expo (EXPO)’ through the public-private partnership project ‘Eco-friendly Hydrogen Advanced City Busan,’ which involves introducing 1,000 hydrogen buses in Busan Metropolitan City.

On the 19th, SK E&S announced that it signed a ‘Hydrogen Economy Ecosystem Creation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Support the 2030 Busan World Expo Bid’ with Busan Metropolitan City, the Ministry of Environment, Busan Port Authority, Hyundai Motor Company, Busan Technopark, and the Busan Metropolitan City Bus Transport Association.

This MOU aims to develop Busan into an ‘Eco-friendly Hydrogen Advanced City’ equipped with a hydrogen mobility and charging infrastructure, specialized companies, and workforce to successfully support the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo. By presenting a ‘carbon-neutral EXPO’ model based on hydrogen energy, the goal is to showcase Busan’s unique competitiveness as an eco-friendly hydrogen city, differentiating it from competing countries worldwide.

According to the agreement, Busan City and the partner organizations will convert approximately 1,000 existing diesel and CNG (compressed natural gas) buses to hydrogen buses by 2025. Following Busan City’s plan, 322 city and commuter buses will be converted to hydrogen buses in 2023, 402 in 2024, and 285 in 2025. Additionally, to ensure stable hydrogen fuel supply, 10 liquefied hydrogen charging stations will be established at key locations throughout Busan.

Cooperation will also be pursued to build a hydrogen industry ecosystem within the region. By 2030, the plan is to discover hydrogen small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Busan and nurture 10 hydrogen-specialized companies through support for research and development (R&D) and workforce training.

Efforts will also be made to develop Busan Port, a global port and logistics hub, into an ‘Eco-friendly Hydrogen Port.’ Infrastructure such as ‘Port Hydrogen Complex Stations (charging stations)’ will be built in Busan Port and its hinterland, and the hydrogen fuel conversion of port mobility including trucks and special equipment, as well as ships, will be promoted.

SK E&S will take on roles such as supplying liquefied hydrogen, building charging infrastructure, and supporting the nurturing of hydrogen SMEs, striving to create a hydrogen ecosystem and generate local jobs.

Meanwhile, SK Group, whose Chairman Chey Tae-won serves as the private sector chairman supporting the Busan Expo bid, has launched the ‘WE (World Expo) Task Force (TF)’ involving top executives to actively support the 2030 Busan World Expo bid. SK E&S also plans to leverage its accumulated business capabilities in the energy sector starting with this MOU to contribute to the success of the World Expo bid.

Chu Hyung-wook, CEO of SK E&S, said, “The year 2030 marks a milestone for achieving the national carbon neutrality goal by 2050. If Busan transforms into a clean ‘Hydrogen Advanced City’ leading carbon neutrality in the mid to long term, it will not only drive the successful hosting of the World Expo but also create a successful case as a global model eco-friendly city.”

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