The same week that the Hyundai I-Blue was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany, Hyundai also used its Tucson FCEV to cut the ribbon on the first hydrogen fueling station in Seoul, South Korea. This will make the second hydrogen fueling station to open in South Korea as the first opened in August 2006 in Daejeon at the Korea Institute of Energy Research.
Because Hyundai was having trouble road testing their hydrogen vehicles without a hydrogen fueling station in the major metropolitan area of Seoul, they lobbied and finally got this $9.1 million station built. The GS Caltex fueling station will dispense compressed hydrogen gas for Hyundai and for the 14 fuel cell vehicles the government plans to operate by the end of the year. The South Korean government has also committed to operating 34 fuel cell vehicles by the end of 2008.
With this kind of commitment to fuel cell technology, hydrogen will be in the soul of Seoul for many years to come.