South Korean efforts to transition to a hydrogen economy.

Abstract

As the world increasingly looks to renewable energy sources to deal with climate change, South Korea is aiming to become a leader in the development of hydrogen as an alternative energy source. In developing an ecosystem for a hydrogen economy, South Korea is focused on increasing the production and use of hydrogen vehicles, establishing an ecosystem for the production and distribution of hydrogen and related technologies, and expanding the production of fuel cells. The government’s vision has the backing of key industrial firms, most importantly the Hyundai Motors Group which plans on investing 7.6 trillion won ($6.7 billion) under its “FCEV Vision 2030” and is part of the HyNet consortium to build 100 new hydrogen refueling stations in South Korea by 2022. If South Korea’s vision is successful, it expects hydrogen to account for 5% of its projected power consumption in 2040, to see its economy grow by 43 trillion won, 420,000 new jobs created, and significant reductions in both fine dust and greenhouse gas emission.Graphic abstract