On January 17, 2019, President Moon Jae-in and Minister Sung Yoon-mo (Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy) participated in Ulsan City Hall, and the Korean government announced that it would implement the “Roadmap for Activating the Hydrogen Economy” in order to make South Korea as the world’s leading hydrogen economy.

In the carbon-dominated economic era, imports of crude oil and natural gas were all affected by international price fluctuations. Currently, South Korea relies on imports for 95% of its energy. Hydrogen, on the other hand, is an inexhaustible resource that can be obtained everywhere. If a certain amount of energy can be supplied through the hydrogen economy, stable economic growth and energy security can be secured.

The government aims to:

• Expand the use of hydrogen in hydrogen cars and energy production (electricity, heat) to achieve the largest share of the global hydrogen market
• Shift the paradigm from grey hydrogen (hydrogen produced from fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas) to green hydrogen (hydrogen produced from renewable energy)
• Establish a stable and economical hydrogen storage and transportation system
• Establish a hydrogen ecosystem and a full-time safety management system.

Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy leads this project. The Ministry recently announced that it will reorganize itself in order to respond to changes more properly. Other Ministries also are contributing to the hydrogen economy initiative.

Ministry of Science and ICT is starting R&D project for climate and environment research and development to support the development of the world’s leading source technologies for greenhouse gas reduction and resource development, to respond to the climate change crisis and to establish the foundation of the national growth engine. It will continue until 2023, beginning with the support of 10.2 billion won in 2019.

Ministry of Economy and Finance is implementing a data block chain, shared economy, artificial intelligence (AI), and investment promotion programs to enhance the competitiveness of the Korean economy and enhance investment in environment and safety, together with supporting the hydrogen economy.

Even as we move in the right direction, inter-ministry cooperation and careful monitoring are needed in order to accomplish the goals set.

Dear Minister Sung,

We, Climate Scorecard, are excited to watch South Korea’s decision to develop our hydrogen economy more aggressively. We are interested in watching further progress and want to see the positive effects of your policies in the fight against climate change.

Send Action Alert Message to:

Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy

Minister Yunmo Sung

Office of Energy and Resources

Director Young-jun Choo

Tel. +82-44-203-5700

Mailing Address

402 Hannuri-daero,

Sejong-si, 30118, Republic of Korea

Learn More

http://www.korea.kr/special/policyCurationView.do?newsId=148857966.