The largest hydrogen production facility in the country, with a maximum daily capacity of seven tons, completed construction in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday.

During a completion ceremony, the industry ministry touted the savings in charging fees to be conferred upon capital-area drivers of hydrogen-powered cars after the plant begins shipments next month.

The Pyeongtaek plant will produce hydrogen by decomposing natural gas through heating, with a neighboring LNG facility supplying the gas. The amount of hydrogen produced by the plant daily is enough to fully charge some 12-hundred hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

It is only the second such facility in South Korea after the first production base opened in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

Currently, most of the 33 hydrogen charging stations operating in the wider capital region are replenished by shipments of hydrogen delivered from places as far away such as Ulsan and Yeosu.

The industry ministry has been pushing to build hydrogen production complexes in seven regions nationwide since 2019.

In addition, authorities in Pyeongtaek and Gyeonggi Province plan to establish a comprehensive hydrogen-based traffic depot near Pyeongtaek Port.