Korean Hydrogen Explosions, Leaks, Public sale Failure & Impeachment Could Trigger Pivot

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The hydrogen atom is tiny. Getting sufficient of it in a single place requires pressures discovered at three to seven kilometers beneath the floor of the ocean. Unsurprisingly, it leaks. Because it’s an oblique greenhouse fuel and an explosion danger, that’s an enormous drawback. South Korea has been studying precisely what meaning.

On December 23, 2024, a hydrogen-powered bus exploded at a refueling station in Mokhaeng-dong, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea. The incident occurred shortly after the bus had accomplished refueling and was beginning its drive system, leading to accidents to 3 people: a charging station worker, the bus driver, and one other particular person current on the scene. All have been hospitalized with non-life-threatening accidents. A purple warning mild on the dashboard was the one indicator that one thing was incorrect earlier than the incident.

Within the aftermath of the explosion, a beforehand unscheduled inspection of the 147 hydrogen buses working within the nation discovered that one in 9 have been leaking. Unsurprisingly, the vibration of regular use eased off the tightness of varied bolts and seals, permitting the leaks, that are being characterised as small. I used to be unable to search out any governmental stories on the diploma of leakage, however can be unsurprised to search out it was better than 1% of hydrogen per day. Hydrogen is the Houdini of molecules. Retaining it within issues requires precision engineering, high-technology seals, excellent meeting, and fixed upkeep. Checking the entire issues which could loosen and trigger leaks would require partial disassembly of autos, including to already excessive upkeep prices.

On December 27, 2024, a fireplace occurred at a hydrogen refueling station in Hoedong-dong, Busan, South Korea. The incident was initially reported as an explosion on account of a loud noise and vibrations felt in close by buildings. Nevertheless, subsequent investigations clarified that the fireplace resulted from a hydrogen leak attributable to the activation of a security valve, not an explosion. The hearth was extinguished inside roughly 50 minutes, and no casualties have been reported.

That is removed from the primary time issues like this have occurred On Could 23, 2019, a hydrogen tank explosion occurred at Gangwon Technopark in Gangneung, South Korea, leading to two fatalities and 6 accidents. The incident befell throughout a check operation of a gas cell generator, the place oxygen inadvertently seeped into the hydrogen storage tanks, resulting in the explosion.

South Korea’s hydrogen vehicles aren’t immune. In a current re-inspection, 1,463 out of 9,482 vehicles, primarily Hyundai Nexo fashions, have been discovered to have hydrogen fuel leaks. The leaks, detected in parts equivalent to storage tanks and valves, raised security issues because of the potential danger of fireside or explosion. Hyundai has initiated a worldwide recall of the Nexo to deal with the problem, changing defective elements and conducting particular inspections.

Whereas the dangers of hydrogen autos exploding have tended to be overstated, the excessive proportion of autos discovered to be leaking when inspected means parking hydrogen autos in enclosed areas with out wonderful air flow is a nasty thought. Whereas hydrogen was not the trigger within the current bus depot hearth in France that destroyed most of a small city’s hydrogen buses, it wouldn’t shock me if one or two of them weren’t leaking small quantities of hydrogen which contributed to the blaze.

Gross sales of Hyundai’s Nexo hydrogen gas cell car noticed a pointy decline in 2023 and 2024. In 2023, Hyundai bought 4,328 Nexos in South Korea, a major drop from the ten,164 models bought the earlier yr. U.S. gross sales additionally fell to 241 models from 408 in 2022. The downturn deepened in 2024, with South Korean gross sales plummeting by 99.4% in January, amounting to simply two autos bought that month, and complete U.S. gross sales for the yr dropping to 93 models, a 61% decline from 2023. Folks globally are voting with their pocketbooks to purchase electrical vehicles, not gas cell vehicles, one thing Hyundai was betting on.

South Korea’s hydrogen refueling infrastructure has confronted important setbacks in recent times, with practically half of the nation’s hydrogen refueling stations experiencing breakdowns between 2022 and 2024, leading to over 1,100 cumulative days of downtime. In November 2023, a significant hydrogen provide disruption briefly closed three-quarters of the nation’s stations, leaving drivers stranded and a few autos needing towing. Whereas the variety of hydrogen autos on the highway has practically tripled since 2021, rising to over 34,000, the infrastructure has not saved tempo, with solely 203 stations in operation.

The nation tried to develop hydrogen-powered trains as nicely, with Hyundai Rotem main efforts to develop options for non-electrified rail routes. Backed by authorities funding beneath the Hydrogen Financial system Roadmap, the initiative faces important hurdles, together with the excessive prices of hydrogen gas cell know-how and the manufacturing challenges tied to inexperienced hydrogen. To this point, just one transient trial on tracks was carried out.

Whereas South Korea been funding the event of hydrogen-powered ferries, none have but entered industrial service, remaining within the pilot or growth stage on account of excessive prices, infrastructure challenges, and the complexities of hydrogen manufacturing. In distinction, battery-electric ferries have already begun working on brief routes, such because the “Inexperienced Dolphin,” benefiting from less complicated infrastructure and extra mature know-how.

In additional unhealthy information for the nation’s hydrogen plans in November 2024, it concluded its inaugural clear hydrogen energy era public sale beneath the Clear Hydrogen Portfolio Commonplace. The Korea Energy Change introduced that out of six energy crops taking part with a mixed capability of 6,172 GWh, just one bidder, Korea Southern Energy, was chosen. KOSPO’s proposal to supply 750 GWh yearly by co-firing ammonia at its Samcheok Bitdream Headquarters energy plant was the only real bid under the federal government’s undisclosed value ceiling. This consequence highlighted challenges within the viability of hydrogen for power, as solely 11% of the supplied quantity was awarded.

As of January 2025, there have been no confirmed orders for liquefied hydrogen (LH2) tanker ships from South Korean shipbuilders. Whereas corporations like HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering have been actively creating designs and applied sciences for large-scale LH₂ carriers, these efforts stay within the analysis and growth part. As an example, in Could 2024, Shell and HHI entered right into a joint growth settlement to design and assemble a large-scale LH₂ provider, focusing on commercialization by 2030. Nevertheless, this collaboration has not but resulted in agency orders. Equally, in January 2025, the South Korean authorities launched a challenge to design and construct the nation’s first liquefied hydrogen provider, named Hydro Ocean Ok, with completion anticipated by December 2028. This initiative can also be in its early levels, specializing in design and growth relatively than quick building orders.

The Changwon Hydrogen Liquefaction Plant, South Korea’s first of its type, has been labeled a failure by a particular committee established by the town council. In an interim report, the committee criticized officers for allegedly dashing the challenge with out correct feasibility checks or adherence to authorized procedures. Accomplished final yr by Doosan Enerbility, the plant was designed to liquefy 5 tonnes of hydrogen every day from unabated pure fuel for refueling stations however stays non-operational and has failed on-site testing. The challenge, backed by a 95 billion received ($65 million) mortgage assured by the town, lacked a required fiscal affect evaluation and metropolis council approval for the collateral plan. The committee condemned the administration for evasion and non-cooperation through the investigation and vowed to demand accountability from key witnesses.

It’s fairly doubtless going to result in felony costs, with the hydrogen for power area being the subsequent nuclear corruption scandal within the nation. In 2012, South Korea discovered that reactor elements had been equipped with falsified security certificates and broadly put in, resulting in the shutdown of a number of nuclear reactors. The following investigation revealed widespread corruption throughout the nuclear trade, ensuing within the indictment of roughly 100 people, together with a high former state utility official. By 2014, 68 folks had been sentenced, collectively receiving 253 years of jail time. Will hydrogen see that stage of issues? It’s fairly attainable.

The current political turmoil in South Korea is significant on this context. President Yoon Suk Yeol was elected because the President of South Korea in March 2022. He championed the enlargement of nuclear power and the event of a hydrogen financial system as key parts of the nation’s carbon neutrality technique. He reversed the earlier administration’s nuclear phase-out coverage, aiming to extend nuclear energy’s share of electrical energy era to 34.6% by 2036 and dedicated 4 trillion received ($3 billion) to nuclear analysis and growth throughout his time period. On hydrogen, he promoted its integration into the power combine and proposed establishing a “Carbon-Free Alliance” to increase the usage of each nuclear energy and inexperienced hydrogen. He served till his impeachment by the Nationwide Meeting on December 14, 2024, following his declaration of martial legislation on December 3, 2024.

The nation has been advancing its hydrogen power technique because the early 2000s. The 2018 Hydrogen Financial system Roadmap set bold targets, together with 6.2 million hydrogen autos and 1,200 refueling stations by 2040. In 2021, South Korea turned the primary nation to enact a complete hydrogen legislation, formalizing its dedication to manufacturing, storage, and distribution.

Late in December, BloombergNEF analysts prompt that the change in political management within the nation might result in a pivot on its hydrogen technique. Not one of the hydrogen targets have been remotely near being met. Their hydrogen autos and refueling stations are leaking hydrogen, catching hearth and exploding. Now it’s clear that hydrogen is a greenhouse fuel, albeit not directly, and 13 to 37 occasions worse than carbon dioxide, so small leaks go a great distance. It’s time for South Korea to surrender on the lifeless finish of hydrogen for power and refocus its trade and financial system on electrification.