The government assessed that, despite the fallout from the Middle East situation, domestic transport hydrogen needed to use hydrogen buses and hydrogen cars is being supplied normally.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment held a meeting on the 18th to review the "transport hydrogen supply and demand situation related to the Middle East situation" and stated accordingly.
According to the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority (K-Petro), the current daily supply of transport hydrogen stands at 56–75 tons (t). A government official said, "There are not expected to be major disruptions to the immediate use of hydrogen buses and hydrogen cars."
However, due to reduced naphtha imports stemming from the Middle East situation, the share of byproduct hydrogen supplied by petrochemical companies has fallen from usual levels. This is because petrochemical plants are not being operated as usual. Byproduct hydrogen is hydrogen produced as a secondary output during petrochemical processes and accounts for more than 60% of domestic hydrogen production.
In its place, reformer hydrogen produced using natural gas and other feedstocks is substituting for the shortfall. The share of reformer hydrogen producers in the total domestic transport hydrogen supply increased by 3% (about 2 t) from usual.
O Il-yeong, director general for climate and energy policy at the climate ministry, said, "If supply and demand difficulties arise, related corporations plan to actively cooperate in securing substitute volumes," adding, "Hydrogen charging station operators should work to stabilize hydrogen prices."