Level 3 Hydrogen Bus to Start Operation Next Month
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on March 28 that it held an industry-university-research institute conference on the development of the autonomous driving industry. The meeting was attended by 20 industrial, academic, and research experts.
This meeting was held to discuss the development of the domestic autonomous driving industry ahead of the launch of Hyundai Motor’s Level 3 autonomous driving vehicle. The automaker plans to release the 2023 G90 with Level 3 autonomous driving technology in the second half of 2022. Level 3 is conditional autonomous driving, in which an autonomous driving vehicle maintains a proper distance from a vehicle in front of it even if the driver takes his or her hands off the steering wheel while driving.
From 2017 to 2021, the Korean government invested 145.5 billion won in a project to develop nine core parts for autonomous vehicles. This project led to the registration of 120 domestic and foreign patents related to core parts such as cameras, radars and LiDAR systems. The ministry is planning to secure Level 4 autonomous driving technology by 2027 in accordance with its roadmap.
A Level 3 hydrogen bus developed through the government’s support project will start running as early as April. The ministry supported the development of the self-driving hydrogen bus by investing 21.7 billion won from 2019 to 2021. Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis participated in the Level 3 hydrogen bus development project led by the Korea Automotive Technology Institute. The self-driving hydrogen bus will start its demonstration on a BRT road in Sejong City after receiving temporary operation approval at the end of next month.