Hydrogen-fueled hydrogen buses will be used in bus routes in Seoul for the first time.
The government plans to provide 1,000 hydrogen buses to major cities nationwide by 2022.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Hyundai Motor Company will sign a memorandum of understanding for the spread of hydrogen buses at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday.
To create and expand the hydrogen bus market, 메이저놀이터the city bus, is to be converted into a hydrogen bus.
From this day on, one of the hydrogen buses will be operated on bus No. 405, which runs the Seoul City Hall section in Yeokgok-dong, Seoul.
It will be the second time that a hydrogen bus will be deployed on a regular bus route after Ulsan on February 22.
The 405 hydrogen bus will be operated five times a day for the next 10 months and will be charged at a hydrogen station in Yangjae.
Starting this year in Seoul and Ulsan, the government plans to test 30 hydrogen buses in six cities nationwide from next year.
Seven in Seoul, six in Gwangju, three in Ulsan, five in Changwon, four in Asan, and five in Seosan.
Through cooperation between the government and the private sector, it is planning to establish mass-production system in 2020 and distribute a total of 1,000 units by 2022.
It is also speeding up construction of hydrogen charging stations that are needed to diffuse hydrogen cars.
On the same day, 13 companies including Korea Gas Corporation, Hyundai Motor Company, and Deokyang will hold a ceremony to launch a special purpose company (SPC) that will lead the construction of hydrogen charging stations.
The companies plan to invest 135 billion won in SPC and install 100 charging stations by 2022.
Participants of the MOU, including Minister of Industry Sung Yoon-mo, Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, will test-drive the hydrogen bus with the Seoul citizens after the event.
"The actual recovery of the hydrogen bus will be an opportunity for the world to show off Korea's hydrogen technology such as durability and safety," Sung said.