Gov't unveils blueprint for hydrogen economy

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Business

Sat, September 30, 2023 | 01:38

Tech

Gov't unveils blueprint for hydrogen economy

Posted : 2022-11-09 16:53

Updated : 2022-11-09 22:08

Korea's first moving hydrogen recharging station, an Xcient 25-ton truck by Hyundai Motor Company equipped with compressor, storage, condenser and recharger, refuels a Hyundai Nexo at a hydrogen recharging station in Junggok-dong in Seoul's Gwangjin District, Oct. 28. Yonhap

Seven core industries designated; seven ministries involved in game-changer initiative

By Ko Dong-hwan

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has announced the country's latest comprehensive plan to broaden and bolster the use of hydrogen to reduce carbon emissions and the nation's reliance on fossil fuels.

The announcement came after critics observed that the nation's use of what's perceived as one of the cleanest energy sources has been limited to automobiles and power generation fuel cells. The country, according to those observers, has also been depending too much on fossil fuel-based grey hydrogen ― produced from liquid natural gas or extracted during petrochemical or steelmaking processes, a grade lower than green and blue hydrogen in cleanness ― which isn't effective for lowering the country's greenhouse gas emissions.

Joined by Han, the heads of seven ministries including environment, industry, science, land, finance and experts from outside the government, the Hydrogen Economy Committee directly under Han was held for the first time since the onset of Yoon Suk-yeol administration in May this year. The Prime Minister said during the committee's fifth meeting at Lotte Hotel Seoul that the latest plan hinges on three directions: "scale-up, build-up and level-up."

In other words, the plan aims to expand hydrogen demands, establish a global supply network as well as realize dual fuel-based power generation using hydrogen and ammonia (hydrogen 50 percent, ammonia 20 percent, with development of required technologies completed by 2027 and put into practice the following year).

The committee anticipated that by 2030, the number of hydrogen vehicles in the country will jump from just over 19,000 as of 2021 to 30,000. Hydrogen power generation will also account for over 7 percent of national output by 2036, while it had only produced 767 MW as of 2021.

The blueprint will also introduce a nationwide distributive infrastructure to promote the use of clean hydrogen ― by building "the world's biggest" liquefied hydrogen plant that will produce 40,000 tons per year, expanding hydrogen recharging stations nationwide, as well as laying an underground pipeline for carrying hydrogen throughout Gyeonggi and Chungcheong provinces in the country's central-western regions.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during the Hydrogen Economy Committee's fifth meeting at Lotte Hotel Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

SK, Hyosung and HyChangwon will be building the liquefied hydrogen plant and recharging stations, while Hyundai Motor Company will be the country's main hydrogen vehicle maker. As of 2021, there were 141 recharging stations that only deliver fuel as a gas. By 2030, the government plans to introduce 70 additional stations that can pump liquid hydrogen fuel, which takes up much less volume than gas when storing or transporting.

The new distributive pipeline for hydrogen will also utilize the existing pipelines used to distribute LNG. Han said Wednesday that he will introduce a distributive network for clean ammonia in the country's West Sea. The authority expected that each year, some 200,000 tons of blue ammonia will be imported from the Middle East and 600,000 tons of green ammonia from the Southeast Asia. The imported ammonia will then be supplied to the country's local companies like Samsung, SK, POSCO, Lotte and Korea National Oil Corporation via the pipeline for their use in making hydrogen products.

Wednesday's blueprint also designated the country's core hydrogen industries to raise their stakes in national economy and further grow to a global top level: water electrolysis to extract pure hydrogen, liquefied hydrogen carrier ships, trailers, hydrogen recharging stations, fuel cell mobility and power generation as well as hydrogen turbines.

The committee said that they will complete building an ammonia carrier ship by 2026 and liquefied hydrogen carrier ship by 2029. As of 2021, there were also only 30 domestic companies exclusively working on hydrogen. The figure, by 2030, is expected to grow to 600. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as part of the blueprint, also announced that they will advance the country's level of hydrogen technologies and thus increase the number of hydrogen-related products topping global markets from 2 as of 2021 to 10 by 2030.

"The new blueprint is expected to generate a net worth of 47 trillion won ($34.5 billion), 98,000 new jobs and reduce 28 million tons of greenhouse gas," said an official from the Hydrogen Economy Policy Division under the trade ministry, Wednesday.

aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr