Increase 1,000 Hydrogen Buses in the Seoul Metropolitan Area by 2027

Hyundai Motor, SK E&S, and KD Transport Group Agreement
Starting with 100 Units This Year, Increasing Sequentially

Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating the establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem in the Seoul metropolitan area. Hyundai Motor Group has decided to deploy 1,000 new hydrogen buses in the metropolitan area over the next four years. Buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells are quiet, emit no harmful substances such as carbon, and have shorter refueling times, making them a more efficient mode of transportation compared to regular electric buses. While expanding the charging infrastructure, which has been pointed out as a weakness, bus manufacturers and operators have joined forces to expand hydrogen buses.

Hyundai Motor Company, SK E&S, and KD Transportation Group announced on the 28th that they signed a business agreement to create an eco-friendly hydrogen mobility ecosystem in the metropolitan area. The signing ceremony held the previous day was attended by Jung Yoo-seok, Head of Hyundai Motor's Domestic Business Division, Choo Hyung-wook, CEO of SK E&S, and Heo Sang-jun, CEO of KD Transportation Group.

According to this agreement, by 2027, KD Transportation Group will replace 1,000 city, metropolitan, and airport buses operating in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province with hydrogen buses. Starting with 100 buses this year, the number will gradually increase each year.

Hydrogen bus deployed for operation / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Hyundai Motor will establish a maintenance network in the metropolitan area in addition to producing hydrogen buses. The company was the first in the world to mass-produce various hydrogen vehicle models, including passenger cars, buses, and trucks. The buses will be supplied in two models: Elec City and Universe FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle).

SK E&S will build more than six liquefied hydrogen refueling stations and take responsibility for hydrogen production and supply. Since the first half of this year, the company plans to produce up to 30,000 tons of hydrogen annually at its liquefied hydrogen plant in Incheon. Liquefied hydrogen is gaseous hydrogen cooled to an ultra-low temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius and liquefied, allowing for larger transport volumes and faster refueling compared to gaseous hydrogen.

KD Transportation Group will deploy the newly introduced hydrogen buses and provide sites for building refueling stations. The company owns 18 passenger transport companies nationwide and about 5,000 buses, making it the largest land transportation company in South Korea. It operates about 30% of the approximately 11,000 metropolitan and city buses in the Gyeonggi Province area.

Jung Yuseok, Head of Domestic Business Division at Hyundai Motor Company (from left), Heo Sangjun, CEO of KD Transport Group, and Choo Hyungwook, CEO of SK E&S, are posing for a commemorative photo after the signing ceremony at the SK headquarters on the 27th.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

The three companies also agreed to continuously consult with the government and local governments to expand the introduction of hydrogen buses and strengthen cooperation across the entire project. Hyundai Motor expects other transportation companies to adopt hydrogen buses following this agreement.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's vehicle registration data, as of last month, 631 hydrogen buses (commercial passenger vehicles) have been distributed nationwide. Limited to the metropolitan area (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon), there are only 177 buses. Despite many advantages, the lack of charging infrastructure and high costs have slowed adoption. Commercial vehicles, especially buses, are considered suitable eco-friendly vehicles because they travel longer distances and operate on fixed routes compared to regular passenger cars. Large diesel buses emit 30 times more greenhouse gases and over 40 times more fine dust than regular passenger cars. According to the Ministry of Environment, replacing diesel buses with hydrogen buses can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 62,000 tons and fine dust by 30 tons annually.

Jung Yoo-seok, Head of Hyundai Motor's Domestic Business Division, said, "Hydrogen buses not only reduce carbon emissions in daily life but also filter ultrafine dust on the roads, making them the ultimate eco-friendly mobility with significant public benefits. We will support the development of various hydrogen vehicles and the technology to operate them stably to contribute to the transition to a hydrogen society."

Choo Hyung-wook, CEO of SK E&S, said, "We will contribute to achieving the national greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030 by supplying competitive liquefied hydrogen and building refueling infrastructure." Heo Sang-jun, CEO of KD Transportation Group, said, "We will convert nearly half of our fleet, about 2,500 vehicles, to hydrogen buses."

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