SK Energy launches South Korea’s first hydrogen charging station for trucks

SK Energy, the oil business unit of SK Innovation Inc., announced last weekend that it has launched the first hydrogen charging station in South Korea. The facility was exclusively designed for large cargo trucks.

This is initially servicing trucks in Ulsan, which is the industrial city in the country. The hydrogen charging station has a capacity of 80 kilograms per hour, so the fueling station can charge up to 16 passenger cars per hour or about 40 big trucks per day.

As per The Korea Herald, the hydrogen charging station is a joint investment project of SK Energy, Ulsan City, and the national government. It cost KRW7 billion or $5.3 million, and SK Energy contributed about KRW1.3 billion for the construction of a 1.5-kilometer underground pipe that links the charging station to a hydrogen plant.

The hydrogen charging station was installed 7 kilometers from Ulsan Interchange and 3 kilometers from Cheongnyang Interchange. This is the area or route that is frequently taken by truck drivers. SK Energy said that this station will help fill a gap since there are still lots of diesel-powered trucks due to little progress in electrification.

“Instead of electricity, hydrogen was considered as the alternative choice of energy, but there was no hydrogen station suited to charge big-sized cargo trucks until the Ulsan charging point,” SK Energy said in a statement. “Unlike the existing hydrogen delivery system via tankers, we are supplying it through an underground pipe to improve stability.”

SK Energy will be providing free hydrogen charging service for free. This is part of the company’s promotional event for the launch of the service, and 10 vehicles will enjoy the free service per day until Friday this week.

Meanwhile, it was last year when SK Energy first announced that it would build fuel cells and EV chargers, and in January 2023, it made a promise to set up energy stations that can produce hydrogen, heat and electricity.