Hydrogen in South Korea: Air Liquide accelerates large scale mobility

Published on March 11, 2026

4 minutes

Hydrogen

South Korea is now establishing itself as one of the world leaders in energy transition. With a national target of reducing greenhouse gases by between 53% and 61% by 2035, the country is focusing, notably on accelerating hydrogen mobility. As a strategic partner in this sector, Air Liquide is deploying its expertise across the entire value chain, from production to distribution, with a clear priority: heavy and commercial transport.

Key takeaways

Acceleration of heavy and commercial mobility: To achieve its climate goals, South Korea plans to deploy several thousand hydrogen-powered buses. Fuel cells are the preferred choice for heavy transport because they offer better operational efficiency and higher payload capacity than electric batteries.
Expansion of distribution infrastructure: Air Liquide supports this rollout through consortiums to ensure a smooth, safe, and competitively priced supply for commercial fleets.
Strategic logistics network in Daesan: Scheduled to open in late 2025, the Lotte-Air Liquide Ener'Hy packaging center is the largest site in Korea with a capacity of 17 tons of hydrogen per day. This hub combines Lotte Chemical's stable supply with Air Liquide's technological expertise to provide a sustainable supply of hydrogen to the Seoul metropolitan area.

Heavy-duty mobility: driving carbon neutrality

The commercial sector - buses and trucks - is crucial for the decarbonization of mobility. For freight operators, fuel cells (FCEVs) are the obvious choice over battery electric vehicles for reasons of operational efficiency.

"Hydrogen trucks weigh much less than battery trucks, allowing us to carry full loads and operate for longer periods of time."
Joon-Seok Oh, CEO of SeoAn Energy.

Public buses and coaches, which are key players in this transition, are also being adopted quickly. The government's strategy calls for the deployment of several thousand hydrogen-powered buses in the coming years. For the transport company Kang Nam Tour, the change is already palpable: "Hydrogen buses produce almost no noise and our drivers report that they are much more comfortable to drive," says its CEO, Hae-jin Lee.

State-of-the-art infrastructure for reliable hydrogen supply

To support this growing fleet, Air Liquide is actively involved in the HyNet¹ and KOHYGEN² consortiums. HyNet operates close to 70 stations (24% market share in Korea) and can count on the support of its main shareholder, Hyundai Motor Group.

"HyNet's mission is clear: lay the foundations for a true hydrogen society in Korea."
Sung-ho Song, CEO of HyNet

KOHYGEN focuses on high-capacity stations for buses and trucks, using doubled equipment to avoid any downtime.

"Our goal is to provide hydrogen in a stable and safe manner to heavy-duty fleets. We contribute to carbon neutrality by supplying hydrogen in the most efficient way and at the most appropriate price for commercial operators."
Kyoung-sil Lee, CEO of KOHYGEN

The two initiatives share a common objective: to transition to high-capacity infrastructure to ensure reliable and fast service.

Daesan: Korea's strategic hub for hydrogen logistics

Inaugurated at the end of 2025, the Lotte-Air Liquide Ener'Hy filling center in Daesan is a key part of the national infrastructure. It is the largest site of its kind in Korea, capable of packaging 17 tons of hydrogen per day, which is enough to supply the Seoul metropolitan area.

As explained by Somie Kim, former CEO of Lotte-Air Liquide Ener'Hy: "Ener'Hy's core mission is to build a safe and efficient hydrogen supply chain and expand the domestic hydrogen mobility market in Korea. By combining Lotte Chemical's capacity to provide a stable, large-scale supply of this molecule with Air Liquide's global expertise in operational safety and efficiency, our goal is to establish a sustainable and competitive hydrogen energy supply chain."

Towards hydrogen mobility without borders

Thanks to its strategic partnerships with leaders such as Hyundai and Lotte, Air Liquide is not just supplying a molecule; the Group is building the infrastructure for a cleaner, more sustainable future for South Korea and, tomorrow, for other regions of the world.

1. Hydrogen Energy Network
2. Korea Hydrogen Green Energy Network

53 to 61% South Korea's greenhouse gas reduction target by 2035
17 tons of hydrogen per day delivered by the Lotte-Air Liquide Ener'Hy filling center in Daesan

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KIM Somie (CEO & Representative Director of Lotte-Air Liquide Ener’Hy): Lotte-Air Liquide Ener’Hy was established in December 2022 to accelerate climate change response and hydrogen economy transition. Our ultimate goal is to establish a sustainable and competitive eco-friendly hydrogen energy supply chain system.

NA Jaehoon (Operation Director of Lotte-Air Liquide Ener’Hy): Our hydrogen filling center is located in Daesan Industrial Complex, Seosan City, Chungcheongnam-do. It has a daily hydrogen filling capacity of 17 tons. To maximize operational efficiency, we operate a total of 10 filling bays and manage them to quickly process multiple tube trailers at once.

Narrator: Lotte Chemical, as Korea’s largest petrochemical company, provides stable supply of large-scale by-product hydrogen, while Air Liquide provides global hydrogen expertise and operational know-how to maximize efficiency and safety.

KIM Somie: Our dispatch center receives low-purity by-product hydrogen from the Lotte Chemical plant through pipeline reliably 24 hours a day, and produces high-purity hydrogen through refining facilities. This resolves hydrogen supply instability in the Seoul metropolitan and central regions and is the first strategic step in implementing the hydrogen supply chain.

NA Jaehoon: We’ve established Korea’s largest MEGC 450 bar filling facility which is currently in operation. While pressure is more than double, the amount of hydrogen that can be transported per trailer increases by more than 3 times, dramatically improving transportation efficiency. We can dramatically reduce transportation frequency and logistics costs. Reduced operations naturally lead to reduced carbon emissions.

KIM Somie: Through the introduction of 420 bar Type IV trailers, we can significantly increase transportation efficiency and drastically reduce logistics costs. Price competitiveness is the greatest driving force for popularizing the hydrogen economy.

NA Jaehoon: Because logistics efficiency has improved by utilizing MEGC, we can now supply hydrogen to customer sites—even at hydrogen refueling stations located far from Daesan—reasonably and stably.

KIM Somie: The shipping center’s location is a decisive factor in securing reliability and cost efficiency. As you know, hydrogen is very difficult to store and transporting large quantities at once is also very costly.

NA Jaehoon: From a logistics perspective, the biggest challenge is managing supply and demand volatility. To solve this problem, we collaborate closely with refueling stations. This is a key strategy to reduce wasted transportation costs and optimize station operations.

KIM Somie: Ener’Hy will stimulate market activation through reasonable hydrogen prices and substantially support achieving the government’s hydrogen vehicle adoption targets.

In the long term, we’ll focus on realizing a sustainable hydrogen economy.

Sustainable hydrogen will be used not only for mobility but also as hydrogen for power generation, making a decisive contribution to domestic energy transition.

Lotte - Air Liquide Ener’Hy, powering hydrogen mobility
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SONG, Sung-ho (CEO of HyNet): With Korea's 2035 national greenhouse gas reduction target confirmed at a minimum of 53%, to accelerate the decarbonization transition, the shift to hydrogen mobility in the transport sector is essential.

LEE, Kyoung-sil (CEO of KOHYGEN): Our specific mission is to supply hydrogen at the most appropriate price through the most efficient methods, thereby contributing to carbon reduction.

KIM Somie (CEO of Lotte-Air Liquide Ener'Hy): Lotte-Air Liquide Ener'Hy was established in December 2022 to accelerate climate change response and hydrogen economy transition. Our company's core mission is to build a safe and efficient hydrogen supply chain and expand the domestic hydrogen mobility market. Ener'Hy's stable production supports smooth hydrogen station operations of KOHYGEN and HyNet, which maximizes charging convenience for hydrogen vehicle drivers, enhancing hydrogen vehicle user convenience and playing a decisive role in expanding the mobility market.

LEE, Hae-jin (CEO of Kang Nam Tour): Initially, we had many concerns about introducing hydrogen buses. Our refueling infrastructure wasn't sufficient, and there weren't many actual operating cases. Recently, stations are gradually increasing. The government and companies are expanding infrastructure, so we expect things to improve significantly.

SONG, Sung-ho: We operate 67 hydrogen refueling stations across 55 locations nationwide. In this way, we at HyNet are strategically building and operating hydrogen refueling infrastructure throughout the country and expanding the distribution of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

LEE, Kyoung-sil: KOHYGEN has the important mission of continuing to expand this network. Because with Korea's transportation-related sector, the government has basically planned to distribute up to 30,000 hydrogen buses.

OH, Joon-seok (CEO of SeoAn Energy): The lifeblood of trucks depends on how quickly and efficiently they can transport cargo. Hydrogen trucks weigh much less than batteries. You can carry full loads and operate longer, so I think they're much better.

LEE, Hae-jin: Citizens who've ridden hydrogen buses share positive experiences. It seems public perception is improving rapidly. Therefore, we hope that more people will be able to experience the benefits of hydrogen buses firsthand in the future.

LEE, Jae-jin (Bus Driver, ShinYoung Buslines): I'm so accustomed that reversing a diesel bus would be a bit awkward. The quiet ride is really good.

KIM Somie: Our goal is to complete a hydrogen distribution network centered on high-pressure gas shipping centers that can stably supply large commercial hydrogen vehicles.

LEE, Hae-jin: For transport companies, a stable hydrogen supply is most important. Large-scale charging centers like this should make hydrogen supply much more stable.

LEE, Kyoung-sil: The demand for hydrogen is high. When operating large-capacity charging stations, supply stability is important.

SONG, Sung-ho: In this situation, I think HyNet's role is very important. We shall continue to fulfill our role as a company leading the way towards a clean future.

OH, Joon-seok: Air Liquide's shipments have truly given the metropolitan area significant breathing room. So if we get the opportunity and overcome just a few hurdles, the future of hydrogen trucks is bright, and the transition to eco-friendly vehicles will definitely happen.

Driving the hydrogen transition for Korean transport