SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to build the world’s first ‘hydrogen cities’ to promote the hydrogen economy.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced on Sunday that it chose Ansan, Ulsan, Wanju, and Jeonju as ‘candidate cities for the hydrogen economy,’ and Samcheok as a city that will specialize in research and development (R&D) of hydrogen technology.

Candidate cities for the hydrogen economy will replace conventional energy sources for residence and transportation with hydrogen fuel, and carry out localized projects related to the hydrogen economy.

Construction will begin next year, and is expected to be completed by 2022.

City for Hydrogen R&D will be in charge of developing new energy management technology that integrates residences.

The government plans to build hydrogen cities using conventional hydrogen technology, while designating a city with R&D specialization for further advancement in the field.

Authorities will invest 29 billion won (US$25 million) on each of the three candidate cities, half of which will be paid by regional governments.

Ansan will carry out an initiative to revive its aging industrial complexes by introducing hydrogen-related industries. The city specifically aims to cooperate with the tidal power industry to create eco-friendly source of hydrogen.

Ulsan will collect byproduct hydrogen from oil plants to use to power buildings or recharge electric cars.

For this, the city will build pipelines with Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities and begin testing forklifts and ships that use hydrogen as a primary energy source.

Designated authorities will begin construction of pipelines later next year, aimed for completion by 2022.

H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)