South Korea said Tuesday it plans to build two facilities that collect by-product hydrogen and transport the resource in an effort to further boost the country's green energy drive.

The country will spend 6.3 billion won ($5.59 million) on the project, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

While sites for the construction have not yet been selected, the ministry plans to find suitable locations by May.  

A shipping center reserves by-product hydrogen produced from nearby factories and loads it on compressed hydrogen tube trailers.

When completed, each center is expected to supply up to 2,000 tons of hydrogen annually, which is enough to power 13,000 automobiles.

The ministry said the centers will not only help stabilize the price of hydrogen but also lead to a stable supply of the resource, which is crucial in promoting hydrogen fuel cell automobiles.

Hydrogen is an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels as automobiles running on the resource only create water in the process of generating power. It can be produced as a by-product of industrial facilities, including petrochemical plants.

South Korea earlier announced a blueprint, which centers on building 1,200 charging stations nationwide by 2040, with the accumulated number of hydrogen fuel cell automobiles reaching 6.2 million units by that year. (Yonhap)