Korea’s Largest Hydrogen Production Complex Ready in Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Provincial Government of South Korea has announced that a hydrogen production complex capable of supplying fuel for 410,000 hydrogen vehicles per year is opened in Pyeongtaek City in the Province.

As per the official statement by the government, it is the first of its kind in the Korean capital region. Gyeonggi Province expects that the Pyeongtaek complex will become a bridgehead in the hydrogen energy era.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim said, “One of the future challenges we must overcome is climate change. We will do our utmost to promote the hydrogen economy as one of the measures for dealing with the climate crisis, centering on the Pyeongtaek hydrogen production complex.”

He continued, “The Pyeongtaek complex will be the largest hydrogen production base in South Korea, producing more than seven tons of hydrogen a day. I have no doubt that this complex will play a key role in the carbon neutral era.”

Previously, Governor Kim pledged to create a “hydrogen fusion cluster” in the cities of Pyeongtaek and Ansan and make it a key hub for the hydrogen industry through linkage with specialized industries in the region.

Following the construction of the hydrogen production complex, Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongtaek City plan to build a hydrogen transportation complex connected to hydrogen refueling stations near Pyeongtaek Port. A “hydrogen city” will also be created that will use hydrogen as its main energy source.

Gyeonggi Province Government said that the Pyeongtaek complex was selected in December 2019 for the Hydrogen Production Complex Construction Project entailing a total project investment of $17.5 million coming from the central government, provincial government, city government and also the private sector.

A Major Leap in Hydrogen Industry

Gyeonggi Province Government also held that this complex will produce hydrogen by reforming natural gas. From August, up to seven tons of hydrogen are slated for production per day and approximately 2,450 tons a year. This is the largest production amount in South Korea, capable of fully refueling 1,200 hydrogen cars a day.

Currently hydrogen in the Korean capital region is being supplied from remote locations. As the completion of this complex stands to substantially reduce hydrogen transportation costs, the provincial government expects the hydrogen supply price in the capital region area to drop as well.

Meanwhile, from 2019, the Korean central government has been planning to build small hydrogen production bases that supply hydrogen fuel using city gas near demand sites so as to resolve the regional bias in the supply of hydrogen. This initiative is being implemented in seven regions across the country. Seven small-scale hydrogen production bases will be completed within this year so as to realize carbon neutrality, and to additionally support the construction of clean hydrogen production bases with water electrolysis and carbon capture functions by 2026.