A hydrogen bus recharges at the ‘Green Hydrogen Charging Station’ in Sinheung-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon. (Image proved by Incheon City Government)
INCHEON, April 19 (Korea Bizwire) —With the Korean government’s hydrogen bus supply support project on track, more citizens will soon have the opportunity to ride buses fueled by clean hydrogen energy on a regular basis.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held a ceremony at the Incheon Singheung Bus Garage site to mark the delivery of the first hydrogen bus under the ‘Hydrogen Fuel Cell Purchase Support Pilot Project’ and the completion of the Incheon Hydrogen Production Base.
The government launched the hydrogen bus supply pilot project last November as part of its growth strategy to foster the hydrogen industry. A public offering selected a total of 400 hydrogen buses, including 130 in Incheon, 75 in Jeollabuk-do, 70 in Busan, 45 in Sejong, 40 in Gyeongnam, and 40 in Seoul.
The hydrogen bus delivered to Incheon today is the first achievement under the government’s hydrogen bus support business plan. Previously, Incheon operated 23 hydrogen buses, and an additional 130 hydrogen buses will be operated through the government support project.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy estimates that once the support project is completed, a total of about 18 million citizens in Incheon alone will be able to use hydrogen buses annually.
This is the first time in Korea that a hydrogen production base has been constructed directly in a bus garage that utilizes hydrogen on a large scale. The image shows the Incheon Hydrogen Production Base. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
At the same time, a small-scale hydrogen production base powered by natural gas was built at the hydrogen bus garage. Until now, Incheon did not have a hydrogen production facility and was supplied with hydrogen made in other regions, but with the new facility, the city can produce 430 tons of hydrogen per year, which can be used to fuel hydrogen buses operating from the garage.
This is the first time in Korea that a hydrogen production base has been constructed directly in a bus garage that utilizes hydrogen on a large scale.
“By expanding the supply of hydrogen buses, the public will be able to experience the hydrogen economy one step closer to their daily lives,” said Park Il-joon, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy. “We will actively support the upgrading of infrastructure related to hydrogen production, storage, and transportation and make further efforts to spread the hydrogen ecosystem by improving hydrogen-related laws and systems.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
