Mass sales of hydrogen powered vehicles were expected to start in South Korea next year after the government announced it would soon ease regulations on the production and transportation of the fuel.
The news emerged this week after the minister of trade, industry and energy, Paik Un-gyu, held a meeting with the president of Korea Gas Corporation, Cheong Seung-il, Hyundai Motor vice-president, Park Kwang-sik, and the heads of four related companies.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Hyundai, along with Toyota, is amongst the few car makers worldwide to have seriously targeted hydrogen as a mass market fuel in the short to medium term.
After the meeting, Paik told reporters the government would soon ease regulations on the production and transportation of hydrogen which are key issues that have, so far, held back the market for hydrogen powered vehicles.
In particular, the government would allow the use of reformers, which convert natural gas into hydrogen, in chosen districts as well as increasing the allowed carrying capacity of hydrogen transporters.
New operational standards had been developed for hydrogen refuelling, including a provision allowing for movable stations to provide additional flexibility and reach to a network of fixed stations.
The government planned to provide grants worth KRW2.6 trillion (US$2.3bn) to develop a hydrogen fuel 'eco-system'.
Hydrogen powered public service buses would be targeted initially with mass sales expected to start next year and 1,000 expected to be in operation by 2022.
Private vehicles also would be targeted, with some 15,000 units expected to be in circulation by 2022 once a refueling network of some 310 stations was in place across the country and with help from generous government subsidies.
