It was confirmed that not a single Hydrogen Fuel Cell forklift was sold this year. While the government is moving to supply eco-friendly construction equipment in line with the global carbon neutrality trend, corporations are not responding. To use subsidies efficiently, the government plans to shift the subsidies allocated for Hydrogen Fuel Cell forklifts to support electric forklifts starting next year. It will also prepare measures for the long-term supply of hydrogen equipment.
According to the construction machinery industry on the 15th, this year the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy secured a total budget of 1.92 billion won (12 units) in subsidies for Hydrogen Fuel Cell forklifts. Although policy support of 160 million won per unit for hydrogen forklifts was prepared, the number of disbursements was zero.
In 2024, only 640 million won (4 units) out of 2.4 billion won in subsidies for 15 secured units was disbursed. Doosan Bobcat succeeded in commercializing Hydrogen Fuel Cell forklifts in 2023, but sales have been sluggish even though the government provides subsidies covering 75% of the hydrogen forklift price (210 million won). A government official said, "The reality is that market demand is not large."
The government has decided to reduce subsidies for Hydrogen Fuel Cell forklifts starting next year. Instead, it will increase support for electric forklifts by the same amount. The judgment is that there is relatively more demand for electric forklifts. A government official said, "An electric forklift with larger capacity is scheduled to be released next year," adding, "We plan to allocate about two-thirds of the total subsidies to newly released electric forklifts."
A lack of hydrogen charging infrastructure is cited as the reason Hydrogen Fuel Cell forklift deployment is not proceeding smoothly. Because safety is crucial, the installation standards are strict, making adoption difficult, according to industry assessments. Although hydrogen charging for construction machinery, which had been impossible, has become feasible and indoor hydrogen charging station installation is now allowed, there is a gap with actual on-site conditions.
An industry source said, "To install a charging station, a 2-meter-high, 12-centimeter-thick protective wall must be installed, and the setback distance regulations to the road must also be observed," adding, "We analyzed the feasibility of installing a charging station to introduce hydrogen forklifts but ultimately gave up."
It is just as difficult to use even if indoor charging is abandoned. Moving outside from indoors to charge is inefficient. In the logistics and parcel delivery sectors, where work often takes place on the second floor or higher, the building structure makes going outside difficult. As such, parcel carriers including CJ Logistics and Kyungdong Parcel, which had considered adoption, also halted their plans.
The government is promoting a pilot introduction of mobile hydrogen charging stations instead of fixed hydrogen charging stations, which are realistically difficult to install. With next year's budget, up to 7 billion won has already been allocated to operate two units. The reason is that it fits the characteristics of construction sites, which appear and disappear every few months.
Some analyze that charging stations are not being built because there is no demand. From the perspective of those building charging stations, there is no incentive to install them when there are no vehicles to refuel.
Even so, hydrogen has many advantages for medium- to large-sized construction machinery. Small equipment that does not require high output can be sufficiently covered by electric equipment, but there is a view that medium- to large-sized equipment, which must be used for long periods, will be the "domain of hydrogen."
Unlike batteries, which get heavier as capacity increases, hydrogen only requires relatively light tanks to be scaled up. Charging speed also differs: electric takes hours, while hydrogen takes 5 to 10 minutes. A government official explained that the government could also consider designating devices equipped with hydrogen engines, which are about to undergo demonstrations, as eligible for subsidies.
A government official said, "The hydrogen construction machinery business has not gained momentum, but the number of charging stations is expected to continue to increase," adding, "Technologically, products and technologies that did not exist before are being developed, so there is clearly a domain for hydrogen."