The announcement was made by the Minister for the Environment a few weeks ago. In comparison, Europe is a long way off the mark, even if the momentum is there.

The fateful milestone was due to be passed in the first week of July, according to Environment Minister Han Hwa-jin. It will have taken Korea just 5 years to achieve such a result, bearing in mind that the first bus was registered in Changwon on 3 June 2019. Hyundai is obviously the big winner in this fleet conversion.

This is a significant figure, but it is far outstripped by China. By 2022, the country already had almost 5,000 H2 buses in circulation. Reliable figures are hard to come by, but there are a host of players.

In Europe, the market leader – Solaris of Poland – claims to have put more than 220 Urbino Hydrogen on the road. Its latest contract is in France, with an order for 4 buses for Artois Mobilités’ Tadao network in the Hauts de France region. On the Commission side, the Clean Energy Partnership reports that 122 hydrogen-powered buses have been deployed in 6 European countries, with a further 34 due to arrive this year as part of the Jive 2 programme. According to the Sustainable Bus website, 370 hydrogen-powered buses were on the road in January 2023 and 1,200 are expected to be on the road by 2025.

And in France? Last June, at the H2T Days in Dijon, France Hydrogène counted 58 hydrogen-powered buses in circulation in France (with a planned roll-out of 721 by 2033).

Do you want to learn more about South Korea and hydrogen? You can read our latest articles on the country here.