Sejong, March 16 - The Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Wha-jin) launched a hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle supply support group on March 14. The support group will establish communication channels with stakeholders for each vehicle type and respond in real time to difficulties arising during hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle supply. Park Yeon-Jae, Director-General of the Air Quality Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Environment, will serve as the head of the support group. The organization will consist of two teams, a support team for supplying hydrogen-powered trucks and that for supplying hydrogen-powered buses. The support group plans to provide customized support considering market characteristics by vehicle type.

The government aims to supply 4.5 million emission-free vehicles (electric and hydrogen vehicles) by 2030 to achieve GHG reduction targets. As a part of the plan, the government is trying to replace large commercial vehicles, such as intercity buses and large trucks, with hydrogen-powered vehicles since those hydrogen vehicles have shorter charging times and longer mileage than electric ones. The Ministry of Environment will supply 700 hydrogen buses and 100 hydrogen trucks in 2023 to achieve its goal.

Starting with hydrogen-powered intra-city buses released in 2020, the manufacturers will officially release hydrogen-powered intercity buses in the first of 2023. The government will distribute them mainly to local governments in demand of hydrogen-powered buses, including Incheon, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do. The government will distribute 11-ton hydrogen-powered trucks released in November 2022 to local governments where major logistics bases are located, including Gyeonggi and Daejeon.

With the launch of the hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle supply support group, the Ministry plans to hold a stakeholder meeting for each vehicle type to provide policy support so that private demand can lead to actual supply. As a part of its plan, the Ministry will hold a policy meeting on March 22. The Ministry will also establish a cooperative system with intra-city and chartered bus operators to supply hydrogen-powered buses. At the same time, the Ministry will establish a regular cooperative system with major logistics companies and public institutions that use trucks often. In addition, the Ministry will establish plans to supply hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles in which hydrogen vehicle manufacturers, operators of hydrogen fueling stations for commercial vehicles, and local governments participate.

Park Yeon-Jae, Director-General of the Air Quality Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Environment, stated, "Supplying hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles is necessary, but we face many challenges to be solved during the process. The government plans to boldly provide financial and administrative support so that demand will lead the supply."

Contact: Kim Yoo-ran, Deputy Director

Air Quality Future Strategy Division / +82-(0)44-201-6881

Foreign Media Contact: Chun Minjo(Rachel)

+82-(0)44-201-6055 / rachelmchun@korea.kr