South Korea to hit 1,000 hydrogen buses on the roads this month

South Korea’s Ministry of Environment (MoE) reports the country has seen 992 hydrogen buses registered as of 1 July. It expected the cumulative sales of the eco-friendly buses to reach 1,000 units in the first week. The final figures have yet to be communicated.

South Korea started deploying hydrogen buses on 1 June 2019, with the first unit registered in Changwon, (Gyeongsangnam-do Province), a city in the southern part of the country. It recorded a modest growth in this vehicle category over the last five years, with cumulative sales standing at 77 units in 2022, 131 units in 2021, 283 units in 2022, 650 in 2023, and 989 units in 2024 (until June).

The MoE believes hydrogen buses are better than battery electric buses because they offer a longer driving range, of at least about 500 km, and take only 15-20 minutes for refuelling as opposed to one hour for the latter. Jung Sun-hwa, Director of Air Environment Policy at MoE, says South Korea has set a goal of registering 300,000 in hydrogen vehicle sales, with 20,000 coming from hydrogen buses.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) says South Korea recorded a 46 per cent year-over-year growth in hydrogen consumption for mobility in the first half of the year – 3,790 tonnes, due to the expansion in the supply of hydrogen buses. MOTIE estimates the demand will grow to 8,400 tonnes in the second half.

Only Hyundai manufactures and sells hydrogen buses in South Korea. The company offers two models, both with fuel tanks located on the roof—Elec City Fuel Cell and Universe Fuel Cell. The former delivers a range of 550 km, and the latter can travel up to 635 km. The company normalised the production capacity of its hydrogen buses earlier this year, increasing it sixfold from 500 units in 2023 to 3,000 units.

me.go.kr (in Korean), motie.go.kr (in Korean)