The reason why the Yangjae hydrogen charging station is not crowded is the site that reopened after a year

“After changing to a hydrogen car, I have to wait in a long line at the charging station, so I haven’t been upset once or twice. I made a reservation for a Yangjae hydrogen charging station on the news that it opened a new door, and I’m happy to end it soon. I hope this will happen every time.”

Mr. Park Mo, 42, the owner of Nexo, who met at the Yangjae hydrogen charging station in Seoul on the 2nd, said this while discussing his experience of waiting at least an hour at the National Assembly hydrogen charging station. Mr. Park said, “Thanks to making a reservation today, it only takes about 10 minutes,” he said. “I look forward to this convenient charging in the future.”

The Yangjae hydrogen charging station, which reopened on the 1st, was relatively busy the morning after opening. The expectation that there will be at least three or four units lined up like the hydrogen charging stations that have been found so far has been broken.

An official at the Yangjae Hydrogen Station said, “The first opened yesterday (1st), 46 cars were charged, and 13 cars were reserved today. It’s also because of the reservation system, and it’s still in the early stages of opening, so it doesn’t seem crowded.” said. He predicted that “there is a little bit of word-of-mouth about Nexo users’ internet cafes, so there will be more users.”

The operation of Yangjae Hydrogen Station is 100% reserved and cannot be used by on-site visits. Same-day reservations are also not possible, and reservations must be made at least the day before. Reservations can be made through the mobile app (application)’Hicare’. Reservations can be made every hour, and you can also check the status of how many reservations have been made by date.

The Yangjae hydrogen charging station, which started as the first hydrogen charging station in Seoul in 2010, was temporarily suspended in December 2019 after repeated breakdowns due to aging. After a period of hiatus for more than a year, the renovation was completed the day before and began to open in earnest.

Yangjae Hydrogen Charging Station has returned with increased hydrogen storage capacity from 120kg to 350kg per day. The number of vehicles that can be recharged a day has also increased from 24 to 70 vehicles. Considering that the Yangjae charging station operating hours are 14 hours from 8 am to 10 pm, it is possible to charge up to 5 units per hour.

The usage fee is 8800 won per kilogram, which is the same as that of a private charging station in the city. If you charge 5kg for 44,000 won, the city’s explanation is that the driving distance is about 480km.

With the reopening of the Yangjae charging station, the number of charging stations currently available in Seoul has increased to four, including Gangdong, Yeouido National Assembly, and Sangam hydrogen charging stations. The inconvenience of hydrogen car drivers living in Seocho-gu, Gangnam, and Songpa-gu, etc. is also expected to be relieved.

Until now, residents in Seocho and Gangnam areas had no charging stations nearby, so they had to go to the National Assembly charging station or Gangdong charging station far away. However, it is still impossible to overcome all the charging difficulties by just increasing the number of places. As of January of this year, 1,719 hydrogen cars were registered in Seoul. In simple terms, one charging station would have to handle 429 vehicles.

It is said that the charging time is about 5 minutes shorter than that of an electric car, but it is also a problem that it is longer than that of a general internal combustion engine car. The time required for direct reprinting was longer, about 10 to 12 minutes. If, in any case, the vehicle in front has just finished charging, you will have to wait an additional 10 minutes to increase the hydrogen pressure.

In other words, it takes about 10 minutes to charge one unit, but in the case of charging two units and three units, the time required will increase to 30 minutes and 50 minutes or more, respectively. As it is a structure that cannot be continuously charged like an internal combustion locomotive, charging difficulties are inevitably increased. The fact that none of the charging stations in Seoul are open beyond 10 pm is another factor of dissatisfaction with borrowers.

The government planned to supply 16 hydrogen charging stations in Seoul this year, 37 units including Incheon and Gyeonggi areas, and 115 units nationwide. However, the industry is skeptical of the feasibility. This is because it is difficult to secure the site due to strong resistance from local residents, and the cost of construction exceeding 3 billion won per unit is also a burden.

Last year, the government set a goal to increase charging stations to more than 15 in Seoul alone by 2022. However, there are currently only four charging stations in Seoul, including the Yangjae charging station that opened the day before. Of these, the only newly established place last year was the Gangdong Charging Station.

An official in the industry asked, “Have the targets set out by the government every year have been achieved?” and predicted that “It will be somewhat difficult for the government targets to be realized due to complex reasons such as cost issues and residents’ backlash.”

Shin Hyun-ah, reporter of Hankyung.com [email protected]
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