Current Challenges to Achieving Mass-Market Hydrogen Mobility from the Perspective of Early Adopters in South Korea

Hydrogen mobility is expected to be a crucial element in decarbonizing fossil fuel-based transportation. In South Korea, hydrogen mobility has successfully formed an early market led by fuel cell passenger cars under strong support policies. Nevertheless, the fuel cell vehicle (FCV) market is still in its infancy, and current challenges must be overcome to achieve mass-market adoption. This study aims to identify the current challenges in the diffusion of FCVs in Korea. We identified the key challenges facing FCVs from a consumer perspective with data from the latest FCV customer survey. The data were applied to estimate ordered logit models of fuel cell car satisfaction and purchase intention. Significant challenges in Korea were identified from the perspective of vehicles, infrastructure, and renewable energy. Vehicle-related challenges include concerns about vehicle durability, such as recalls and repairs, and maintenance and repair costs. Infrastructure-related challenges include the fueling accessibility and fueling failures due to hydrogen refueling station facility failures, or hydrogen supply problems. Challenges related to renewable energy include the low proportion of hydrogen from renewable sources. To achieve the large-scale diffusion of FCVs, it is important to maintain support policies and attract new FCV demand, such as long-distance heavy-duty vehicles.