Largest hydrogen production complex starts in Korea’s Pyeongtaek City

A hydrogen production complex that supplies fuel for 410,000 hydrogen vehicles annually opened in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province.

It is the first of its kind in the Korean capital region and the second in the nation after the facility in Changwon City – the capital of South Gyeongsang Province – which has been operating since the end of last year.

Following the construction of the hydrogen production complex, Gyeonggi Province and Pyeongtaek City plan to build a hydrogen transportation complex connected to hydrogen refuelling stations near Pyeongtaek Port and to create a “hydrogen city” that uses hydrogen as its main energy source.

The Pyeongtaek complex was selected in December 2019 for the Hydrogen Production Complex Construction Project promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, entailing a total project cost of KRW 23 billion (USD 17.5 million): KRW 4.85 billion from the central government, KRW 3 billion from the provincial government, KRW 7 billion from the city government, and KRW 8.15 billion from the private sector.

This complex will produce hydrogen by reforming natural gas (a process of pyrolyzing natural gas via steam) supplied from the Pyeongtaek LNG receiving base. From August, up to seven tons of hydrogen are slated for daily production (around 2,450 tons/year). This is the largest production amount in South Korea, capable of fully refuelling 1,200 hydrogen cars a day (around 410,000 vehicles per year).

Most of the 33 hydrogen refuelling stations currently operating in the Korean capital region (20 in Gyeonggi Province, seven in Seoul, and six in Incheon) are supplied with hydrogen from remote locations such as Daesan, Ulsan, and Yeosu, which are more than 120 kilometres away on average. As the completion of this complex substantially reduces hydrogen transportation costs, the provincial government expects the hydrogen supply price in the capital region area to drop as well.

The Ministry plans to complete the currently planned establishment of seven small-scale hydrogen production bases (natural gas-based) within this year to realize carbon neutrality and to support the construction of clean hydrogen production bases with water electrolysis and carbon capture functions by 2026.

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