This is a bird's eye view of a hydrogen fuel cell cluster to be built in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex in Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. (Pohang City Hall)

By Park Hye Ri

The construction of three hydrogen-specialized complexes will lay the core foundation for the country's hydrogen economy.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on June 26 said it held a meeting on such facilities to review progress in the development of such facilities in Donghae and Samcheok, two cities in Gangwon-do Province, as well as one in Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, as well as the status of corporate investment.

The places were designated in November last year by the Hydrogen Economy Committee.

The ministry is promoting construction of a hydrogen cluster jointly with local governments such as those of Gangwon-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do with an investment of some KRW 500 billion.

After concluding a feasibility study and basic construction plan last year, work on the project like land purchase and design of the facilities will begin this year.

The main objective of the complexes in the two Gangwon-do cities is formation of an industrial base for the storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen.

In Donghae, construction of centers for industrial promotion and safety tests of materials and components will begin in March next year.

An economic feasibility analysis for a hydrogen liquefaction plant in Samcheok will be completed by July this year.

The specialized complex in Pohang, which will focus on the fuel cell industry for power generation, will complete the purchase of land for the construction of a performance evaluation center for fuel cell components and materials and a system verification facility by August to begin construction by year's end.

The complex has also signed investment agreements worth a combined KRW 149.2 billion with six companies.

Choi Woo-hyuk, director-general of the ministry's Hydrogen Economy Policy Bureau, said, "By designating at least five new hydrogen-specialized complexes this year, the government actively seeks to develop an industrial ecosystem for the entire value chain of the hydrogen industry including output, storage, transportation and use."

hrhr@korea.kr