Development of safety devices and charging control for self-charging completed
Establishment of safety standards for thermal decomposition hydrogen production facilities

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has begun to actively improve regulations in response to the growing need for self-charging to improve driver convenience and the competitiveness of hydrogen charging stations.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 29th that it plans to select and improve 19 innovative projects that can be felt by businesses after expert review.

Unlike overseas countries such as the US and Japan, domestic hydrogen charging stations have prohibited drivers from charging themselves. Therefore, there have been consistent calls for the introduction of self-charging to improve the convenience of hydrogen vehicle drivers and ensure the economic feasibility of hydrogen charging stations.

Afterwards, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy completed the development of △self-charging safety management regulations △self-charging safety devices (charger freezing prevention, charging nozzle drop prevention device, etc.) △charging control program after receiving regulatory sandbox approval in December of last year.

Starting August 30th, a self-charging demonstration will begin in earnest at the Incheon Airport (T2) hydrogen charging station operated by Hynet, with participation from the general public.

When self-charging, you can save 1,500 to 2,000 won by applying a discounted price of approximately 300 to 400 won/kg for a single 5kg charge.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has received various suggestions related to hydrogen regulations through comprehensive surveys and meetings with hydrogen companies and related organizations since June 2022, and among them, it has selected suggestions for the entire hydrogen safety cycle that can promote corporate activities while ensuring safety. We decided to quickly improve 19 tasks.

The 19 tasks selected include 7 production tasks, 4 storage/transportation tasks, and 8 charging station/utilization tasks.

Regulatory innovations include: △developing inspection standards that take into account the characteristics of electrolysis facilities; △establishing safety standards for hydrogen production facilities using thermal decomposition methods;

Stacks, a key component of electrolysis equipment, were originally subject to burst testing to verify their durability. However, given the significant economic losses to operators in the event of a burst, consideration is being given to developing inspection technology and standards through simulations and other methods instead of burst testing.

Safety standards for pyrolysis-based hydrogen production facilities will also be established. Current law does not include hydrogen production facilities that use pyrolysis of fuels like waste plastics within the scope of hydrogen extraction facilities. However, as part of the improvement plan, pyrolysis-based facilities will be included and safety standards revised to ensure the commercialization of diverse hydrogen production facilities.

In addition, the remaining tasks currently undergoing further review will undergo review by relevant ministries and improvement measures will be finalized by the fourth quarter of this year. A regulatory map will also be provided to provide regulatory information for each hydrogen lifecycle.

The regulatory map is scheduled to be provided in December on the 'Hydrogen Economy Comprehensive Information Portal' operated by H2KOREA.

Park Il-joon, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, “Hydrogen self-charging is a desirable regulatory improvement case that satisfies both hydrogen car drivers and charging station operators in that it improves the convenience of charging for drivers, such as extended operating hours of charging stations and lower hydrogen prices, and enhances the economic feasibility of charging stations, such as reducing operating costs.” He added, “The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will continue to discover regulatory innovation tasks that benefit both users and companies, and actively improve them to revitalize the business environment.”