Ulsan to build hydrogen fuel charging station for freight trucks

SEOUL -- To transform its old transport hub infrastructure based on fossil fuels into an eco-friendly one that uses hydrogen fuel, the southern port city of Ulsan will build a big hydrogen fuel charging station for freight trucks.

Ulsan, which serves as the transport hub of South Korea's southeastern region, said in a statement on March 29 that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Hydrogen Industry Association (KHIA) to inject some 5.7 billion won ($5 million) into the construction of a hydrogen fuel charging station for freight trucks.

KHIA consists of 170 partner companies and organizations including Hyundai Motor and Hyosung Heavy Industries. The charging station will be built over 1000 square meters of land by February 2022. "Ulsan has decided to build a large-capacity hydrogen fuel charging station in order to become the country's leading hydrogen economy city," Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho was quoted as saying.

There are some 50 hydrogen charging stations in operation in South Korea. The construction of charging stations for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is slow because South Koreans feel unsafe about having them near residential areas for the fear of explosion.

To ease public worries over the dangers of hydrogen fuel and expand the network of charging stations, the Ministry of Environment has agreed with two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) providers SK Gas and E1 to convert old LPG charging stations in urban areas into integrated facilities for LPG and hydrogen fuel. The ministry plans to build more than 50 hydrogen charging stations in Seoul and its surrounding cities by the end of 2021.