SK Plug Hyverse recently announced that they have completed the construction of a liquid hydrogen refueling station. The purpose of this station will be for it to supply the energy carrier to local commuter buses.

This project has been constantly supported by the South Korean Government and the construction of this project started in August of 2023. It was earlier this year that the companies ran a test on the system and the results portrayed a successful run.

The station was constructed in Icheon, Gyeonggi-Do and the SK E&S and Plug Power joint venture station is well-designed with excellent equipment. This includes a four-tonne liquid hydrogen storage tank, a cryogenic pump and two refuelling dispensers, which have the ability to offer a maximum of 120kg of hydrogen every hour.

So far, the plan with this project is to convert more than 2,000 existing fossil-fuelled buses to hydrogen by 2026. This will be beneficial to the hydrogen industry and it has also made a guarantee to service SK Hynix’s hydrogen commuter bus fleet, which is operating on the semiconductor firm’s Icheon Campus.

It has been planned that hydrogen will be delivered to the site by SK E&S’ 30,000-tonne-per-year liquid hydrogen plant. This plant was only opened two months ago, which highlights how big, essential and innovative this project will be, plus how much promise and potential it holds.

SK E&S’ Vice-President, commented, “[Liquid hydrogen refuelling] stations have the advantage of being suitable for large-commercial vehicles, so they are expected to spread in earnest along with the recent expansion of commercial vehicles such as hydrogen buses.”