‘Hydrogen Charging Station’ to Open at Chuncheon Service Area in December ‘20
- Central government, local government and private sector enter an agreement to build first hydrogen charging station at an expressway service area in Gangwon-do
Hydrogen charging will be available at the Chuncheon Service Area from December of 2020. MOLIT announced that MOLIT, Chuncheon City, Korea Expressway Corporation, and the Hydrogen Energy Network entered the ‘Jungang Expressway (No.55) Chuncheon Service area Hydrogen Charging Station Construction Agreement’ at Chuncheon City Hall on January 15. The first hydrogen charging station for expressway service areas in Gangwon-do will be available with this agreement. It is expected that it will improve accessibility of hydrogen car drivers, who had to face various inconveniences because of the lack of charging stations in Gangwon-do, while also contributing to the promotion of hydrogen cars in Gangwon-do as well.
The hydrogen charging station that will be newly constructed at the Chuncheon Service Area in Jungang Expressway (No. 55) will be installed with a charging capacity of 25kg per hour (capable of charging 5 vehicles per hour), and it is expected to take about five minutes to charge (maximum driving distance of 600km at full charge).
The Chuncheon Service Area hydrogen charging station is especially significant in that it is the first to be constructed by a new business model with close cooperation of the central government, local government, public corporations and private businesses. MOLIT and the Korea Expressway Corporation will shoulder 1 billion KRW of the 3 billion KRW total for constructing the hydrogen charging station, and the site will be operated through a lease that will be offered free of charge for a limited time, while the respective local government-Chuncheon City, will provide 500 million KRW for construction costs. Based on such funding, construction and operation of this hydrogen charging station will be performed by the hydrogen charging station special purpose corporation (SPC)-Hydrogen Energy Network (HyNet), which was established through investments provided by the Korea Gas Corporation, Hyundai Motor, etc. It is expected that this new business model will become highly active if backed by the positive participation of local governments and private businesses to promote the hydrogen economy.
Meanwhile, MOLIT and the Korea Expressway Corporation are operating a total of eight hydrogen charging stations starting with the opening of the first hydrogen charging station at the Gyeongbu Expressway Anseong Service Area in Apr ‘19. It recently began pursuing the construction of hydrogen charging stations at 11 more expressway service areas including the Chuncheon Service Area, and it is planning to build a total of 60 charging stations in major hub areas such as expressways and transit centers by ‘22 to achieve its ‘hydrogen economy promotion roadmap’ that was announced in January of ‘19.
MOLIT Director General of the Road Bureau Yongseok KIM said at the signing ceremony, “Through the speedy construction of hydrogen charging stations on expressways, we will ensure national distribution of hydrogen vehicles and the rights to take long road trips, while assertively realizing policies to promote the hydrogen economy, which will be a future growth engine of the future.” He also added with emphasis, “Moreover, installing this charging infrastructure will not only benefit the citizens of Chuncheon, but also allow hydrogen car drivers living in other regions to feel comfortable driving to Gangwon-do, thereby promoting local tourism in the future.”