[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju-cheol In] Hydrogen charging stations will be installed in Gyeongju, Gyeongsan, Gumi, and Sangju, Gyeongbuk Province by next year.
According to Gyeongbuk Province on the 15th, these four regions were selected in the Ministry of Environment's hydrogen charging station installation contest and secured a project budget of 12 billion KRW.
30 billion KRW will be invested per region to complete the hydrogen charging stations by the second half of next year.
A Gyeongbuk Province official said, "When establishing new hydrogen charging stations, we are primarily looking for locations near existing charging facilities considering opposition from nearby residents," and added, "We also plan to additionally build hydrogen charging stations in Andong City and Pohang City by next year."
With the installation of hydrogen charging stations in the regions, a green light has been turned on for expanding the supply of hydrogen vehicles in Gyeongbuk Province.
Gyeongbuk Province aims to supply 100 hydrogen vehicles this year, providing support of 32.5 million KRW per vehicle, and plans to expand support annually.
Considering that Hyundai Motor Company's Nexo, the only hydrogen vehicle domestically available, costs between 65 million and 70 million KRW, this means supporting about half of the vehicle price.
Jo Gwang-rae, Director of the Environment, Forestry, and Resources Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, "Responding to climate change and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 makes the popularization of eco-friendly vehicles such as hydrogen cars an essential task, so we will do our best to expand hydrogen charging infrastructure and increase the supply of hydrogen vehicles."
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