Gangwon Province and Samcheok City Become Korea's First Liquid Hydrogen Import Terminal Site

Samcheok Secures Korea's First 'Liquid Hydrogen Import Terminal'

266.8 Billion Won in Government Funding Secured... Samcheok to Become a Hydrogen Hub City

Construction of 280-Ton-Class Liquid Hydrogen Storage and Offloading Demonstration Terminal

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) announced on February 27 that Samcheok City has been finally selected as the demonstration site for the "Global Liquid Hydrogen Supply Infrastructure Construction Technology Development Project" promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Location map and bird's-eye view of the project site. Provided by Gangwon Province.

This project is a large-scale national R&D initiative with a total government funding of 266.8 billion won (excluding local government and private investment). The core objective is to establish a hydrogen liquefaction plant capable of processing 5 tons per day, along with a demonstration terminal for liquid hydrogen storage and offloading with a capacity of 4,000㎥ (280 tons). The project aims to validate key technologies across the entire process of storage, transportation, and offloading of cryogenic liquid hydrogen. Within the industry, this facility is referred to as a "liquid hydrogen import terminal."

From the application stage, Gangwon Province and Samcheok City have focused on preliminary preparations, including site selection and utilization planning. By actively explaining the need for the project and the local conditions to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and related institutions, they successfully met the tight and demanding application requirements. As a result, it is reported that they received high scores in major evaluation areas such as site conditions, local government commitment, and post-demonstration utilization plans.

The site selected for demonstration, owned by Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd., is already developed as an industrial complex and is equipped with infrastructure. It also offers space for future expansion and is located near a port, making it suitable for demonstrating liquid hydrogen transportation and offloading. In particular, the fact that it can be linked with the hydrogen storage and transportation cluster project, which is valued at 317.7 billion won, allowing the entire liquid hydrogen value chain from production to storage, transport, offloading, and utilization to be demonstrated in one location, was a key strength unique to this site in Korea.

In addition, both Gangwon Province and Samcheok City not only offered the demonstration site but also presented specific administrative and financial support plans. Based on the local hydrogen economy foundation, the demonstration is expected to secure a stable, fixed source of demand through connections to hydrogen co-firing plans at thermal power plants, the expansion of hydrogen mobility, and increasing demand within the industrial complex. This was also positively evaluated.

This strong site competitiveness, execution capability, and the potential for expansion from demonstration to commercialization were highly rated overall. The existing energy infrastructure, such as the LNG import terminal and thermal power plant, combined with achievements in building a hydrogen industry foundation, contributed to the recognized feasibility and viability of the "Samcheok City import terminal model," leading to its final selection as the demonstration site.

The government aims to establish a large-scale commercial liquid hydrogen import terminal after 2030, and the Samcheok demonstration terminal will serve as a forward base that can be expanded in the future to a commercial import terminal with a capacity of 40,000㎥, which is ten times larger.

Through this project, Samcheok is expected to secure a key driving force for transforming the local economic structure by developing into a clean hydrogen hub city. This marks a turning point for the city, transitioning from a mining-focused city to an energy complex city and, ultimately, becoming Korea's representative clean hydrogen hub city.

Governor Kim Jin-tae stated, "Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province has been selected for this major government project-the liquid hydrogen import terminal, which will receive 260 billion won in government funding. Liquid hydrogen must be stored at an ultra-low temperature below minus 253 degrees Celsius, which is a highly advanced technology. Our province possesses this technical capability, enabling us to pursue this as a national first."

He added, "We will develop Donghae and Samcheok into hydrogen hub cities of Korea by linking the hydrogen storage and transportation cluster in Donghae and Samcheok."

Going forward, the project will proceed through a preliminary review system (formerly known as the preliminary feasibility study) and the necessary administrative procedures, with a target to begin construction in 2028 and complete demonstration by 2034. In addition, plans are in place to attract related companies, promote the concentration of cryogenic equipment industries, and expand participation by global hydrogen logistics companies, with the goal of developing into a Northeast Asian liquid hydrogen hub.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.