The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) contract with Ulsan City, Hyundai Motor, and Ulsan Passengers in Ulsan on Oct. 22.
It will work together to facilitate the pilot project of hydrogen buses, expand hydrogen vehicles and charging stations and improve public awareness of safety and environment.
As a result, Hyundai Motor-produced hydrogen bus service has started to operate a 56km round trip in Ulsan twice a day. The hydrogen buses, which are currently deployed on the regular route of No. 124 in Ulsan, will use a hydrogen charging station in Ok-dong that opened last year. Hydrogen buses do not emit pollutants. One regular bus will emit fine dust, which is equivalent to 40 medium-sized diesel cars.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy announced that starting with Ulsan, 30 hydrogen buses will be operated on regular bus routes in major cities across the country. It is planning to create a market operating more than 16,000 hydrogen cars, including 1,000 hydrogen buses, by 2022. The Ulsan City, Hyundai Motor, Sejong Industrial and Deokyang also signed a separate MOU to boost the hydrogen economy.
They also decided to support all the hydrogen industry cycles such as hydrogen production, supply and utilization, expand the distribution of hydrogen transport vehicles such as hydrogen trucks and hydrogen ships in Ulsan, and develop diverse business models using hydrogen.
In particular, Hyundai Motor and hydrogen car parts makers plan to continue investing more than 900 billion won in total to produce 30,000 hydrogen cars annually, which is expected to create about 2,200 jobs. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo, Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho, Hyundai Motor President Han Seong-kwon attended the ceremony.
