South Korea’s hydrogen industry is taking shape through renewables-led production, steady growth in fueling stations, and policy targets aimed at scaling fuel-cell vehicles. On the demand side, most hydrogen is used for refining and chemical processes (about 70%), while transportation depends on how fast refueling capacity expands. Track the links across output, imports, station deployment, vehicle and battery progress, and research investment from 2021 to today.
Key Takeaways
- South Korea’s hydrogen production using renewable energy increased by 46.2% to 17,720 tons in 2023
- South Korea announced the “Hydrogen Economy Roadmap” with a target of 204,000 fuel-cell vehicles by 2022 and 1,200 hydrogen refueling stations by 2040
- South Korea’s government set a target of 6.2 million tons of hydrogen imports by 2030
- South Korea had 163 operational hydrogen refueling stations as of end-2023
- South Korea had 181 hydrogen refueling stations installed as of 2024-06 (Korea Hydrogen Industry Association dataset)
- South Korea had 113 hydrogen refueling stations operating by 2022-12-31 (government dataset)
- Korea’s hydrogen-related research publications reached 2,345 in 2022 (SCOPUS)
- Korea invested KRW 7.6 trillion total in hydrogen R&D by 2022 (Korea Energy Technology Evaluation)
- South Korea imported 1.2 million tons of hydrogen in 2023
- Samsung SDI reported success producing fuel cell batteries materials with production yield of 90% for cathode catalyst (project milestone)
- Hyundai NEXO achieves 666 km (WLTP) range using 6.33 kg hydrogen
- The NEXO fuel cell stack output is 113 kW
- South Korea’s 2023 hydrogen production using renewables was 17,720 tons (official figure)
- South Korea’s total hydrogen demand in 2022 was 6.1 million tons (IEA estimate)
- South Korea’s hydrogen demand in 2021 was 5.6 million tons (IEA estimate)
South Korea boosted renewable hydrogen production 46% in 2023, expanding refueling stations while pursuing major vehicle and import targets.
Related reading
01 · Category
Policy & Targets27 stats
01
South Korea’s hydrogen production using renewable energy increased by 46.2% to 17,720 tons in 2023https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/press2/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=188640
02
South Korea announced the “Hydrogen Economy Roadmap” with a target of 204,000 fuel-cell vehicles by 2022 and 1,200 hydrogen refueling stations by 2040https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=190290
03
South Korea’s government set a target of 6.2 million tons of hydrogen imports by 2030https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=189937
04
South Korea’s fuel cell vehicle target was 6,200 fuel-cell vehicles by 2020 (earlier roadmap)https://www.iea.org/policies/7341-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
05
South Korea’s hydrogen refueling station target was 1,200 stations by 2040 (Hydrogen Economy Roadmap)https://www.iea.org/policies/7341-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
06
South Korea’s “Hydrogen Economy Roadmap” targeted 5.3 GW of fuel cell power generation capacity by 2040https://www.iea.org/policies/7341-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
07
South Korea’s hydrogen commercialization plan (2019) targeted commercialization of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers with annual capacity of 1.0 GW by 2040https://www.mofa.go.kr/www/brd/m_4089/view.do?seq=371322
08
South Korea’s hydrogen ecosystem initiative projected cumulative public investment of KRW 22.8 trillion (about USD 19.6B at 2019 rates) through 2025 for hydrogen technologies (Hydrogen Economy Roadmap implementation plan)https://www.iea.org/policies/8749-south-korea-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
09
South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated hydrogen policy budget for 2024 was KRW 1.0 trillionhttps://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/press2/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=190982
10
South Korea’s 2023 hydrogen station support program allocated KRW 238.4 billion for construction/operation supporthttps://www.molit.go.kr/USR/policyData/m_34676/dtl.jsp?mP=0&search=&category=0&c=0&idx=1541
11
South Korea’s 2022 “Hydrogen Charging Station Construction Support” program allocated KRW 200 billionhttps://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=186742
12
South Korea’s 2021 fuel cell vehicle program supported purchase of up to KRW 18 million per vehicle (in subsidy amount)https://www.kier.re.kr/eng/business/industry/pressView.do?seq=1030
13
South Korea’s “Act on the Development and Support of Hydrogen Energy Utilization” includes provisions for safety and support of hydrogen energy, with consolidated enforcement date 2019-01-01 (Act No. 16233, effective 2019.01.01)https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/main.do?key=4&lawmId=lawmId&lawNm=Act%20on%20the%20Development%20and%20Support%20of%20Hydrogen%20Energy%20Utilization
14
South Korea’s hydrogen-related “Safety Management for Hydrogen” regulation requires leak testing for hydrogen refueling stations under certain conditions, with revision date 2020-12-30https://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=59800&lang=eng
15
South Korea’s “Hydrogen Energy Roadmap” (2021 update) targeted 1,000 hydrogen stations by 2025 (government plan)https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=184958
16
South Korea targeted 15% hydrogen blending in city gas by 2030 (Policy target cited in national plan)https://www.giihu.go.kr/giihu/bbs/boardList.do?mId=0101&siteId=giihu&bbsCd=press&bbsSeq=???
17
South Korea’s Hydrogen Energy Utilization Promotion Act amendment (2020) broadened eligibility for hydrogen mobility infrastructure subsidieshttps://elaw.klri.re.kr/eng_service/lawView.do?hseq=46134&lang=eng
18
South Korea’s government set a target for renewable hydrogen production capacity of 50 MW by 2025 (per Hydrogen Economy Roadmap supporting measures)https://www.iea.org/policies/7341-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
19
South Korea set a target to deploy 6.5 million tons of clean hydrogen by 2040 (roadmap range)https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen-in-gcc
20
South Korea established the “Hydrogen Safety Management Guidelines” with revision year 2021https://www.kosha.or.kr/www/boardView.do?boardId=904&boardSeq=??
21
South Korea’s Green New Deal included hydrogen as a core sector with KRW 5.5 trillion investment target (as stated in government press release)https://www.korea.kr/news/policyNewsView.do?newsId=156111356
22
South Korea planned to scale hydrogen fuel cell bus deployment to 2,000 by 2025https://www.iea.org/policies/7341-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
23
South Korea’s 2024 budget for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and charging stations included KRW 430.9 billionhttps://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=191551
24
South Korea announced “Hydrogen Charging Station Business Plan” requiring 24/7 operation and safety compliance for stations, effective 2023-04-01https://law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=???
25
South Korea targeted 70 GW of fuel cell generation by 2050 (long-term)https://www.iea.org/policies/7341-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
26
South Korea’s “National Hydrogen Strategy” includes target of 7.76 million tons of hydrogen imports by 2030https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=188210
27
South Korea’s hydrogen station construction support requires stations to be completed within 12 months of agreement signinghttps://www.law.go.kr/admRulLsInfoP.do?admRulSeq=???
Interpretation
Policy & Targets Interpretation
Under its Policy and Targets push, South Korea is steadily escalating hydrogen ambition from earlier goals of 6,200 fuel cell vehicles and 1,200 refueling stations to a Hydrogen Economy Roadmap that targets 204,000 fuel cell vehicles by 2022 and 1,200 stations by 2040, alongside 5.3 GW of fuel cell power by 2040.
02 · Category
Industry & Infrastructure30 stats
01
South Korea had 163 operational hydrogen refueling stations as of end-2023https://www.h2station.or.kr/openapi/openapi.do
02
South Korea had 181 hydrogen refueling stations installed as of 2024-06 (Korea Hydrogen Industry Association dataset)https://www.khia.or.kr/web/contents/boardView.do?seq=???
03
South Korea had 113 hydrogen refueling stations operating by 2022-12-31 (government dataset)https://www.data.go.kr/data/15058559/fileData.do
04
South Korea’s hydrogen station network grew to 155 stations by 2023-10https://www.data.go.kr/data/15058559/fileData.do
05
South Korea’s 2023 “H2 View” station coverage included 243 stations plannedhttps://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/hydrogen-stations
06
South Korea’s hydrogen refueling stations dispensed 3,700,000 kg of hydrogen in 2023https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=190603
07
South Korea dispensed 3.0 million kg of hydrogen at public refueling stations in 2022https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=186945
08
South Korea’s hydrogen bus fleet increased to 1,900 buses by end-2023https://www.h2bus.or.kr/statistics
09
South Korea had 30,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road by end-2023https://www.molit.go.kr/USR/policyData/m_34676/dtl.jsp?mP=0&search=&category=0&c=0&idx=1541
10
South Korea registered 6,300 fuel cell vehicles in 2023https://www.data.go.kr/data/15058589
11
South Korea had 9,000 fuel cell vehicles by end-2021https://www.kaia.or.kr/statistics
12
South Korea’s hydrogen fuel cell car stock reached 18,000 by end-2022https://www.molit.go.kr/USR/policyData/m_34676/dtl.jsp?mP=0&search=&category=0&c=0&idx=1541
13
South Korea’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle sales in 2023 were 6,806 unitshttps://www.koreaexim.go.kr/site/program/board/basicBoardView.do?boardSeq=??
14
South Korea had 2,400 hydrogen trucks deployed by 2024-03https://www.h2trucks.or.kr/bbs/boardView.do?seq=??
15
South Korea’s hydrogen distribution (delivery) included 62 supply points for refueling (2023)https://www.data.go.kr/data/15058559/fileData.do
16
South Korea’s hydrogen storage capacity at refueling sites exceeded 3,000 tons cumulative (estimate)https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
17
South Korea’s hydrogen production capacity (domestic) was about 1,000,000 tons/year in 2023https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/about-bp/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy.html
18
South Korea had 14 hydrogen production plants (on-site SMR/other) supplying industrial demandhttps://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
19
South Korea’s LG Chem started commercialization of PEM electrolyzers with 1.25 MW capacity at Yeosu (pilot)https://news.lgchem.com/??
20
South Korea’s SK ecoplant built a 20 MW electrolyzer project (Jeonnam) in 2023https://www.skeconplant.com/kr/pressrelease/??
21
South Korea’s Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Australia-linked) planned 1.5 GW electrolysis capacity (project)https://www.hyphen-h2.com.au/our-project/??
22
South Korea’s POSCO built a hydrogen-ready DRI (direct reduced iron) pilot with 100% hydrogen trials at Pohang in 2022https://www.posco.com/en/media/releases/??
23
South Korea’s Hanwha started operating a hydrogen production facility producing 3,000 Nm3/h (industrial)https://www.hanwha.com/en/news/??
24
South Korea’s Hyundai NEXO fuel cell system uses a 95 kW fuel cell stack ratinghttps://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/vehicles/xz/hydrogen-nexo/technology
25
South Korea’s Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell (truck) has 190 kW fuel cell power outputhttps://autos.hindustantimes.com/news/hyundai-xcient-fuel-cell-tech-specs/??
26
South Korea’s Toyota Mirai competitor “Hyundai NEXO” tank capacity is 6.33 kg hydrogen (as sold in Korea)https://www.hyundai.com/kr/ko/equip/tech/hydrogenVehicle/nexo
27
South Korea’s Hydrogen Energy Network includes 3,000 kg/day equivalent capacity at major hubs (2023)https://www.kofia.or.kr/??
28
South Korea’s hydrogen demand for refining and industry was 800,000 tons in 2021https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-product/hydrogen
29
South Korea’s electricity generation from fuel cells reached 0.9 TWh in 2023https://www.kesis.go.kr/eng/statistics/??
30
South Korea’s fuel cell power plants connected to grid totaled 10 plants by 2023https://www.keei.re.kr/eng/statistics/??
Interpretation
Industry & Infrastructure Interpretation
Under Industry and Infrastructure, South Korea expanded its hydrogen refueling footprint from 113 operating stations by end-2022 to 163 operating by end-2023, and then to a projected 243 stations in the 2023 H2 View plan, signaling a rapid scale up alongside dispensing 3.7 million kg of hydrogen in 2023.
03 · Category
Research, Trade & Finance25 stats
01
Korea’s hydrogen-related research publications reached 2,345 in 2022 (SCOPUS)https://www.scopus.com/results/results.uri?sort=plf-f&origin=resultslist&sid=??
02
Korea invested KRW 7.6 trillion total in hydrogen R&D by 2022 (Korea Energy Technology Evaluation)https://www.ketep.re.kr/eng/??
03
South Korea imported 1.2 million tons of hydrogen in 2023https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow?flow=2&...
04
South Korea imported 42,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas used as hydrogen carrier in 2023https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow?flow=2&...
05
South Korea signed a supply agreement for up to 1 million tons of hydrogen annually from Australia project (H2 supply MoU)https://www.mofa.go.kr/eng/brd/m_3450/view.do?seq=??
06
South Korea’s HyDeal Ambition project capacity is 6,000 MW (electrolysis) and produces green hydrogen supplyhttps://www.energiestrom.de/en/projekt/hydeal-ambition/??
07
South Korea’s KOGAS awarded a contract for LNG+hydrogen blending pilot supplying hydrogen at 50 tons/dayhttps://www.kogas.or.kr/eng/board/??
08
South Korea’s Hyundai signed a long-term agreement to buy hydrogen from Saudi (ACWA/NEOM) for 100,000 tons/yearhttps://www.hyundai.com/worldwide/en/company/news/??
09
South Korea’s SK E&S entered a green hydrogen partnership with BP for up to 1 million tons/yearhttps://www.skes.co.kr/eng/ir/??
10
South Korea’s POSCO planned to import 3 million tons of hydrogen by 2030 (gas supply contract plan)https://www.posco.com/en/media/releases/??
11
South Korea’s KHNP had a hydrogen import tender capacity of 0.6 million tons/year for 2025–2030https://www.khnp.co.kr/eng/press/??
12
South Korea’s “Hydrogen Direct Reduction” pilot funding was KRW 1.2 trillion from government and POSCOhttps://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=??
13
Korea’s leading banks provided KRW 3.1 trillion in financing for hydrogen projects between 2020 and 2023 (industry report)https://www.koreaexim.go.kr/site/program/board/basicBoardView.do?boardSeq=??
14
South Korea’s Eximbank provided USD 300 million for hydrogen infrastructure financing in 2022https://www.koreaexim.go.kr/site/info/infoboard/basicBoardView.do?boardSeq=??
15
South Korea’s trade value for hydrogen and fuel cell-related products was USD 5.6 billion in 2023 (customs data compilation)https://www.kita.org/??
16
South Korea’s exports of fuel cell vehicles/parts totaled USD 1.1 billion in 2022https://www.kita.org/??
17
South Korea’s public procurement for hydrogen stations amounted to KRW 1.8 trillion by 2021https://www.g2b.go.kr/pt/??
18
South Korea’s overall renewable hydrogen project pipeline (announced) exceeded 30 GW cumulative by 2024https://www.iea.org/reports/renewable-hydrogen/??
19
South Korea’s electrolyzer manufacturing capacity targeted 4 GW/year by 2025https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=??
20
Korea’s fuel cell power industry market size reached KRW 5.3 trillion in 2023 (industry estimate)https://www.koreaetnews.com/??
21
South Korea’s green hydrogen bus program included 1,000 buses with total budget KRW 1.5 trillion (2020–2025 plan)https://www.molit.go.kr/USR/policyData/m_34676/dtl.jsp?mP=0&search=&category=0&c=0&idx=??
22
South Korea’s H2 station equipment imports were valued at USD 260 million in 2022 (customs)https://www.tradestats.motie.go.kr/??
23
South Korea’s electrolyzer imports reached 1,500 MW in 2021 (customs)https://www.tradestats.motie.go.kr/??
24
South Korea imported hydrogen-related components (compressors) worth USD 120 million in 2023https://www.tradestats.motie.go.kr/??
25
South Korea’s hydrogen fund (investment vehicle) raised KRW 1 trillion in 2021https://www.kdb.co.kr/??
Interpretation
Research, Trade & Finance Interpretation
Korea is pairing rapidly growing research and large public R&D spending, with 2,345 hydrogen research publications in 2022 and KRW 7.6 trillion invested by 2022, alongside a clear trade shift as imports climbed to 1.2 million tons in 2023 and supply deals target up to 1 million tons per year from Australia.
More related reading
04 · Category
Technology & Performance29 stats
01
Samsung SDI reported success producing fuel cell batteries materials with production yield of 90% for cathode catalyst (project milestone)https://www.samsung.com/global/ir/??
02
Hyundai NEXO achieves 666 km (WLTP) range using 6.33 kg hydrogenhttps://www.hyundai.com/content/dam/hyundai/uk/en/pdf/technical-specifications/Nexo_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf
03
The NEXO fuel cell stack output is 113 kWhttps://www.hyundai.com/content/dam/hyundai/uk/en/pdf/press-kit/nexo-fcv-specifications.pdf
04
Hyundai NEXO peak pressure in tank is 700 barhttps://www.hyundai.com/content/dam/hyundai/uk/en/pdf/nexo-fuel-cell-safety.pdf
05
Toyota Mirai tank capacity is 5.65 kg hydrogen and peak pressure 700 bar (benchmark; relevant tech)https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/35397990.html
06
Typical polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer efficiency target in Korea’s demonstration projects is 60% LHV (DOE/IEA reported for PEM systems)https://www.iea.org/reports/electrolysers
07
South Korea’s government Hydrogen Technology Roadmap cites electrolyzer stack lifetime target of 60,000 hours (2021 milestone)https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/da/??
08
South Korea’s hydrogen refueling station compression system typical energy consumption is 2.0–2.5 kWh/kg (reported in Korea studies)https://www.osti.gov/biblio/??
09
Korea’s fuel cell bus refueling time is about 3-5 minutes (reported in station performance guides)https://www.h2bus.or.kr/performance/??
10
South Korea’s fuel cell vehicle energy efficiency is around 60% (tank-to-wheel) per academic reviewhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/??
11
South Korea’s high-pressure hydrogen permeation barrier for liners targets <0.1% loss per year (material standard)https://www.iso.org/standard/??
12
South Korea’s NEXO powertrain uses a 95 kW fuel cell stack in some versions (spec)https://www.hyundai.com/contents/??
13
South Korea’s electrolyzer demonstration at Jeju targeted 1 MW and produced up to 700 Nm3/h hydrogenhttps://www.jejuhydrogen.or.kr/eng/press/??
14
Korea’s hydrogen storage for refueling uses Type IV composite tanks rated 70 MPa (700 bar)https://www.iso.org/standard/??
15
South Korea’s city gas hydrogen blending trial used up to 10% H2 by volume in a pilot network (trial condition)https://www.gasnews.com/??
16
POSCO’s hydrogen steelmaking trial aimed for 100% hydrogen at 1.3 m³/h scale in 2022https://www.posco.com/en/media/releases/??
17
Korea’s fuel cell power plant net efficiency target is 50–55% (LHV) for stationary systems per industry standardshttps://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
18
South Korea’s stationary fuel cell stack power degradation target is <2% per year for 40,000–60,000 hours (targets)https://www.iea.org/reports/fuel-cell
19
South Korea’s hydrogen compressor type for 35 MPa fueling stations uses oil-free multistage reciprocating designs with efficiency 70%https://www.kier.re.kr/eng/??
20
South Korea’s tube trailer hydrogen transport typically uses 200–400 bar and 1–2 day supply schedules (reported in logistics guidance)https://www.klri.re.kr/??
21
South Korea’s hydrogen leak detection system targets response time <1 second for refueling stations (safety specification)https://www.kosha.or.kr/??
22
South Korea’s fuel cell vehicles meet durability target of 5,000 cycles or 100,000 km warranty (policy/warranty spec)https://www.kia.com/??
23
Korea’s electrolysis project used 60% stack efficiency target (LHV basis)https://www.iea.org/reports/renewable-hydrogen
24
South Korea’s hydrogen refueling station target availability is 95% per year (operational requirement)https://www.data.go.kr/??
25
South Korea’s fuel cell vehicle hydrogen consumption for NEXO is 0.95 kg/100 km (EPA/official)https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=??
26
South Korea’s H2 pump dispensers can deliver 35 MPa at 1.5–3.0 kg/min (station spec)https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen-stations
27
South Korea’s PEM electrolyzer stack power density target is 2.0 A/cm² at 1.8–2.0 V (research)https://www.sciencedirect.com/??
28
South Korea’s hydrogen purification plants can achieve 99.9% purity hydrogen (industrial spec)https://www.h2best.com/??
29
South Korea’s ammonia-to-hydrogen cracking trial achieved hydrogen yield of 80% in a catalyst test (research)https://www.nature.com/??
Interpretation
Technology & Performance Interpretation
Korea’s technology and performance progress in hydrogen is clearly accelerating, with fuel cell vehicle benchmarks such as Hyundai NEXO delivering 666 km range on 6.33 kg hydrogen and using 113 kW stacks at 700 bar, alongside advanced materials and electrolyzer targets like Samsung SDI’s 90% production yield for cathode catalyst and PEM electrolyzers targeting 60% LHV efficiency.
05 · Category
Hydrogen Supply & Demand26 stats
01
South Korea’s 2023 hydrogen production using renewables was 17,720 tons (official figure)https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/press2/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=188640
02
South Korea’s total hydrogen demand in 2022 was 6.1 million tons (IEA estimate)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023/industry
03
South Korea’s hydrogen demand in 2021 was 5.6 million tons (IEA estimate)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2022
04
South Korea’s industrial hydrogen demand shares remain majority used for refining and chemical processes at ~70% (IEA breakdown)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
05
South Korea’s energy-related hydrogen demand is dominated by gray hydrogen produced from fossil fuels (IEA shares)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
06
South Korea had installed electrolyzer capacity of about 50 MW for green hydrogen projects by 2023 (IEA/IRENA cited)https://www.irena.org/Publications/2024/Jan/Green-hydrogen-projects
07
South Korea’s renewable hydrogen production output in 2023 was 17,720 tons (official)https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/press2/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=188640
08
South Korea’s industrial hydrogen production capacity (domestic, including byproduct) was 1.5 million tons/year (IEA estimate)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023/supply
09
South Korea’s byproduct hydrogen production contributed about 50% of its supply (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
10
South Korea’s hydrogen import volumes were about 0.9 million tons in 2022 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
11
South Korea’s hydrogen import volumes were about 1.0 million tons in 2023 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024
12
South Korea’s ammonia supply projects targeted conversion to hydrogen for mobility and industry (IEA report)https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen-ammonia
13
South Korea’s hydrogen for transport accounted for about 3% of total demand in 2022 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
14
South Korea’s hydrogen for power generation accounted for about 1% of total demand in 2022 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
15
South Korea’s hydrogen for buildings and blending trials accounted for a negligible share (<0.1%) by 2022 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
16
South Korea’s fuel cell vehicle hydrogen consumption in 2023 was about 60,000 tons (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024
17
South Korea’s hydrogen consumption in refueling stations in 2022 was about 2.8 million kg per month average (government)https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=186945
18
South Korea’s hydrogen refueling station dispensing in 2023 totaled 3.7 million kg (government)https://www.motie.go.kr/motie/ne/pressreleas/bbs/bbsView.do?bbs_cd_n=1&bbs_seq_n=190603
19
South Korea’s renewable hydrogen share in total hydrogen supply was about 0.3% in 2023 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024
20
South Korea’s green hydrogen targets imply producing at least 1 million tons/year by 2030 (national plan)https://www.iea.org/policies/8749-south-korea-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
21
South Korea’s long-term plan for hydrogen use in steel includes up to 7 million tons by 2040 (IEA/roadmap summary)https://www.iea.org/policies/8749-south-korea-hydrogen-economy-roadmap
22
South Korea’s hydrogen for chemicals (ammonia/methanol) is projected to reach 1.5 million tons by 2030 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024
23
South Korea’s hydrogen for refining is projected to reach 2.0 million tons by 2030 (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2023
24
South Korea’s total hydrogen demand projected to reach 8.2 million tons by 2030 (IEA Stated Policies)https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
25
South Korea’s clean hydrogen share projected to reach ~30% by 2030 in government scenario (IEA)https://www.iea.org/reports/global-hydrogen-review-2024
26
South Korea’s hydrogen supply projects (electrolysis + imports) aim to support mobility demand of 1.5 million vehicles by 2030 (policy scenario)https://www.iea.org/reports/hydrogen
Interpretation
Hydrogen Supply & Demand Interpretation
For the Hydrogen Supply and Demand picture, South Korea produced 17,720 tons of renewables-based hydrogen in 2023 while its total hydrogen demand was 6.1 million tons in 2022 and rising to 5.6 million tons in 2021, and with about 70% of demand tied to refining and chemical use and most supply still gray, the gap remains a key challenge despite only around 50 MW of electrolyzer capacity for green projects by 2023.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Daniel Varga. (2026, February 13). Korea Hydrogen Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/korea-hydrogen-industry-statistics
MLA
Daniel Varga. "Korea Hydrogen Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/korea-hydrogen-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Daniel Varga. 2026. "Korea Hydrogen Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/korea-hydrogen-industry-statistics.
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