Hydrogen fuel-cell cars line up in front of a hydrogen charging station at a service station on an expressway in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, northeastern South Korea, on Jan. 21, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite the growing popularity of hydrogen vehicles, the charging infrastructure still remains poor in South Korea, industry data showed Wednesday.
South Korea accounts for 33 percent or 37,400 in the total number of hydrogen fuel cell cars on the road worldwide, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).
Nonetheless, the nation’s hydrogen vehicle-per-charger ratio stood at 180, the second lowest behind the U.S. (224). Germany ranked first with a vehicle-per-charger ratio of nine, followed by Japan at 38 and China at 56.
Compared to electric car charging infrastructure, the shortage of hydrogen vehicle charging infrastructure is more serious.
The number of electric cars distributed in South Korea stood at 147,686, while the number of electric vehicle chargers was estimated at 66,885. The electric car-per-charger ratio is high at 2.1.
“The establishment of hydrogen vehicle charging stations is not keeping pace with the distribution of hydrogen vehicles, indicating that the condition of hydrogen vehicle charging infrastructure could worsen in the future.” the KAMA stressed.
The study also showed that the distribution rate of hydrogen vehicles was higher in areas with better charging infrastructure conditions in light of the number of hydrogen charging stations and their operating hours.
For instance, the number of hydrogen vehicles registered in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, which has no hydrogen charging stations, remained low at 238 units or 12 percent of the province’s total.
In contrast, the number of hydrogen vehicles registered in Changwon, home to six hydrogen charging stations, or 75 percent of those installed in Southern Gyeongsang Province, was high at 798 units or 75 percent of the province’s total.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
