700 Hydrogen Buses in Incheon Next Year... SK E&S "Era of Hydrogen Commercial Vehicles"

Agreement for Creating a Hydrogen Bus Leading City between Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Incheon City, and Hyundai Motor Company

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] By next year, 700 city, metropolitan, and charter buses in Incheon will be replaced with hydrogen buses.

On the 22nd, SK E&S signed an implementation agreement at Songdo Convensia in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon with the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Incheon Metropolitan City, and Hyundai Motor Company to establish Incheon as a leading hydrogen bus city.

Hyundai Motor Company's 3rd Generation New Hydrogen Bus / Photo by Hyundai Motor Company

Incheon plans to convert more than 200 buses this year and a cumulative total of 700 buses to hydrogen buses by next year. The Ministry of Environment will provide subsidies for bus purchases, and the Ministry of Land will support subsidies for low-floor buses and fuel subsidies as well as regulatory improvements. Hyundai Motor Company will produce and supply hydrogen buses in a timely manner. SK E&S will take charge of stable production and supply of liquefied hydrogen as fuel for hydrogen buses and build refueling infrastructure.

Liquefied hydrogen has the advantage of enabling large-scale transportation and fast refueling compared to gaseous hydrogen. It is suitable as fuel for hydrogen commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks that require large-scale refueling.

SK E&S is set to begin production of up to 30,000 tons per year of liquefied hydrogen at the Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant by the end of this year. Through the joint venture with global hydrogen company Plug Power, 'SK Plug Hybus,' they are also promoting the construction of liquefied hydrogen refueling stations.

In particular, SK Plug Hybus signed a business agreement on the same day with the Ministry of Land, Incheon City, Incheon International Airport Corporation, and Korea Gas Technology Corporation to create eco-friendly airport infrastructure for the expansion of hydrogen mobility supply.

About 13 billion KRW will be invested by 2024 to build a liquefied hydrogen refueling station within the bus garage of Incheon Airport Terminal 2 (T2). This is the first case of large-scale liquefied hydrogen refueling infrastructure being established within an international airport area.

This agreement was conducted as a pre-event of the '2023 Incheon Liquefied Hydrogen Forum' hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Land. The forum is a gathering of government, local governments, related organizations, and companies to share policies and project progress for revitalizing the liquefied hydrogen economy and to seek cooperation measures.

Kwon Hyung-gyun, Vice President of SK E&S, stated, "We plan to lead the innovation of hydrogen distribution and storage methods this year by fully launching liquefied hydrogen supply to support early conversion to eco-friendly hydrogen buses and to activate the hydrogen ecosystem. If organic cooperation between the government and the private sector is supported, this year will be the inaugural year of the 'Liquefied Hydrogen Era' recorded in the history of Korea's energy industry."

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