Government Abolishes Safety Training for Hydrogen Passenger Cars... Allows Construction of Multi-Story Hydrogen Charging Stations

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] General hydrogen passenger car drivers will no longer be required to undergo safety education. The construction of multi-story hydrogen charging stations will also be possible, allowing for more efficient use of limited space.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 25th that it has promulgated and will enforce the revised enforcement regulations of the "High-Pressure Gas Safety Control Act" containing these provisions.

According to the revision, hydrogen passenger car drivers are excluded from the safety education requirements.

Until now, hydrogen car drivers, including regular drivers such as vehicle owners as well as one-time drivers like substitute drivers and rental car drivers, were required to receive safety education. From the time they become hydrogen car drivers, they had to pay a training fee of 21,000 KRW and complete a 3-hour course within one month. If caught driving a hydrogen car without receiving the education, fines of 1.5 million KRW for the first offense, 2 million KRW for the second, and 3 million KRW for three or more offenses were imposed. However, reflecting recent improvements in hydrogen car safety and demands for system improvements for fairness with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles and electric vehicles that do not require safety education, this change was made.

However, hydrogen bus drivers, who serve unspecified large numbers of passengers, will still be required to undergo safety education as before.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "We plan to ensure equivalent safety by including hydrogen car safety management in the driver's license test and providing free educational videos."

The standards for installing multi-story hydrogen charging stations were also specified. Auxiliary facilities of hydrogen charging stations, such as coolers, control panels, and fire extinguishing equipment, are allowed to be installed on multiple floors, provided that structural safety of the building is confirmed by experts, thereby reducing the burden on operators to secure land. Core charging station equipment, including storage, processing, compression gas facilities, and chargers, must be installed on the ground as before.

Additionally, to tighten safety management of hydrogen charging stations, operators are required to transmit operation information of safety devices such as emergency shut-off devices and gas leak detectors in real time to the Gas Safety Corporation’s monitoring system. The Gas Safety Corporation is currently building the hydrogen charging station monitoring system and will begin operation in the second half of this year.

Safety inspection standards for high-pressure hydrogen transport vehicles (tube trailers) have also been strengthened. The internal pressure and airtightness of the storage container connection pipes will be checked, and the strength and durability of the storage container’s fixed frame have been added to the inspection items. Low-pressure hydrogen facilities connected to high-pressure hydrogen facilities will be subject to the same safety management procedures, including permits, technical reviews, and inspections, as high-pressure hydrogen facilities.