The Ministry of Environment will support a total of KRW 8.2 billion in fuel purchase costs for 152 private hydrogen charging stations in the first half of 2024 to promote private participation in hydrogen charging station projects and improve operating conditions.

The Ministry of Environment announced on the 2nd that it will provide an average of 54 million won in fuel purchase costs to 152 locations selected through an open recruitment for support for fuel purchase costs at hydrogen charging stations in February.

The Korea Automobile Environmental Association (hereinafter referred to as the Association), which has been commissioned by the Ministry of Environment to operate a fuel purchase cost subsidy project, publicly recruited private businesses that operated hydrogen charging stations in the second half of 2023 from February 7 to 28, 2024, who wish to receive fuel purchase cost support.

The association verified the income and expenditure supporting documents submitted by businesses and selected 152 businesses that met the support conditions as final support recipients.

The subsidy is calculated by multiplying the support unit price (won) by the amount of hydrogen sold (kg), and the support unit price is the amount provided per kg of hydrogen sold at a charging station that is in deficit.

The upper limit of the fuel purchase subsidy is 80% of the total deficit of the hydrogen charging station.

The amount of support is an average of 54 million won per hydrogen charging station (about 8.2 billion won in total), and will be paid sequentially starting May 1.

The fuel purchase subsidy project was introduced in 2021 to promote the stable operation of hydrogen charging stations and build a hydrogen vehicle ecosystem.

The subsidy is provided to private businesses that meet the payment conditions after a comprehensive review of the income and expenditure status of hydrogen charging stations for the previous half year (6 months) based on the payment date.It is paid twice a year.

Jeong Seon-hwa, director of the Ministry of Environment’s Air Quality Policy Bureau, said, “The government will provide maximum support so that the hydrogen car ecosystem, including hydrogen charging stations, can stabilize,” and added, “I hope that the fuel purchase cost support in the first half of this year will help improve the operating conditions of hydrogen charging stations.”