"To become the world's No. 1 hydrogen country"... Put a commercial vehicle in, and the car is missing?

<Anchor>

The blueprint of the Yun Seok-yeol government to develop Korea's hydrogen industry into the world's No. 1 was announced.

It was decided to expand the supply by giving more subsidies to hydrogen trucks and hydrogen buses, but the passenger car sector, which is already the world's number one market, was omitted from the plan.

I will give you the report of environmental reporter Jang Se-man first and explain its meaning a little more.

<Reporter>

The plan to build a straight-line smart city 44 times the size of Seoul, and the world's largest production of 'Green Hydrogen', 100% renewable energy led by Crown Prince bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, are included.

As interest in hydrogen energy has increased enough that oil-producing countries are also starting to produce hydrogen, the Korean government has also introduced a new policy direction.

[Han Deok-soo/Prime Minister (Chairman of Hydrogen Economy): We set the goal of fostering the world's No. 1 hydrogen industry and plan to promote the hydrogen economy development policy in earnest.]

Change the distribution method from gas to liquefied charging to enable mass storage and water decomposition technology and hydrogen transport vessels to foster the hydrogen industry.

What stands out is the goal of supplying 30,000 commercial vehicles such as hydrogen buses and trucks by 2030.

Accordingly, the government subsidy for hydrogen city buses and wide-area buses will increase by 60 million won from next year.

On the other hand, the hydrogen passenger car sector, which is already number one in the world, was excluded from this plan.

The government is establishing policies based on the carbon reduction effect, but explained that hydrogen passenger cars are less efficient than commercial vehicles, so the supply target will be readjusted.

[Lee Ho-geun/Professor at Daedeok University: In the case of a hydrogen car, the durability of the fuel stack is a problem.

Insufficient supply of charging stations due to various safety regulations is also pointed out as a major obstacle.]

Hydrogen passenger car models are limited and the number of charging stations is not increasing rapidly.

(Video coverage: Park Young-il, video editing: Park Ki-duk)

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<Anchor>

Let's take a closer look at this with reporter Jang Se-man. 

[Environmental Reporter Jang Se-man: Yes, the Ministry of Environment decides the subsidy for eco-friendly vehicles for the next year at the end of each year.

He said that the subsidy for hydrogen cars for next year will not change.]

[Environmental reporter Jang Se-man: Hyundai Motor Company has been developing a third-generation hydrogen fuel cell, but we have decided to postpone it.

The development cost is high, but it is known for the low profitability.

There are also setbacks in the launch of new models.]

[Environmental Reporter Jang Se-man: The reason for the slow expansion of hydrogen cars, the inconvenience of charging stations is the biggest reason, but the question of whether they have fundamental competitiveness compared to electric vehicles is not easily disappearing.

Hydrogen cars also convert hydrogen back into electricity to run the power unit, so energy efficiency is bound to drop.

A few years ago, there were voices saying that hydrogen cars would become the mainstream, but that's why they have disappeared a lot now.]

[Environmental reporter Jang Se-man: The expansion of hydrogen, a carbon-free energy, is a global trend, so we must follow it.

However, the Korean government has set a target of 28 million tons of hydrogen by 2050, which is three to four times more than Germany, which produces hydrogen from solar or wind power.

We don't have much energy to make so-called green hydrogen because we don't have enough solar or wind power.

In the end, there is a limit to making hydrogen using oil or gas, and as you know, all of this oil and gas is imported from abroad.

In the end, it is pointed out that it is necessary to focus on the fundamentals of making hydrogen by increasing the amount of renewable energy generation.]