S Korea’s Incheon targets 700 hydrogen buses by 2024

Market: Emissions, Hydrogen
24/02/23

South Korean ministries will work with domestic firms and Incheon city to convert 700 buses in Incheon into a hydrogen-fuelled fleet by 2024.

Incheon city has signed an agreement with the environment ministry, the transport ministry, auto manufacturer Hyundai and refiner SK E&S to co-operate on making Incheon "the leading city for hydrogen buses", the environment ministry said on 21 February. The agreement will convert over 200 buses in Incheon this year and a total of 700 by 2024.

The environment ministry will provide subsidies for purchasing buses, while the transport ministry will provide subsidies for low-floor buses and fuel, the environment ministry said. Hyundai will produce and supply the hydrogen buses in a timely manner, SK E&S said on 22 February.

SK E&S will produce and supply the liquefied hydrogen used to fuel the hydrogen buses, as well as build charging infrastructure. The firm plans to start operations at its 30,000 t/yr Incheon liquefied hydrogen production plant in the second half of this year, it said on 23 December. The firm in December 2022 raised 360bn won ($275mn) in funds from state-run financial institutions to finance the plant.

Liquid hydrogen is able to be transported in large quantities and charged quickly compared with gaseous hydrogen, SK E&S said. This consequently makes it a suitable fuel for hydrogen commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks that require a large amount of hydrogen during charging.

The environment ministry previously signed a business agreement with Incheon in March last year to "create a leading hydrogen public transportation city". It has been pushing for policy support to convert more than 2,000 city buses into hydrogen buses by 2030.

Incheon currently has 1,514 hydrogen vehicles and seven operational hydrogen refuelling stations, with another seven stations under construction.

Hydrogen high-floor buses with a wide area were introduced in Incheon in January, in what the ministry described as "the first time in South Korea". There are four such buses in operation. A total of eight hydrogen refuelling stations that can charge large commercial vehicles, such as hydrogen buses, are scheduled to be built by the end of this year.

Two of these stations are liquid hydrogen refuelling stations and will start operations in this year's fourth quarter, the ministry said. The liquid hydrogen stations will store and transport hydrogen using the liquefaction method, which has higher efficiency and stability than gaseous hydrogen refuelling stations.

SK Plug Hyverse, SK E&S' joint venture with US hydrogen firm Plug Power, separately signed an agreement with the transport ministry, Incheon city, Incheon International Airport and Korea Gas Technology to create eco-friendly airport infrastructure, SK E&S said on 22 February. The firms will invest about W13bn by 2024 to build a liquefied hydrogen charging station in the bus depot of Incheon airport's terminal 2 and a hydrogen transportation complex base at the airport. Incheon airport has a "large demand for long-distance bus operation", SK E&S said, allowing the transition to hydrogen mobility to reduce carbon emissions.

By Tng Yong Li

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