‘South Korea should use hydrogen policies to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors — not just cars and electricity’: IEA
Source：hydrogeninsight
South Korea has long been one of the most enthusiastic proponents of the hydrogen economy, in 2019 becoming the first country to produce an H2 roadmap — and ambitious targets — to using hydrogen at scale to decarbonise its economy.
However, a new report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) has suggested that South Korea’s short-term emphasis on incentivising hydrogen demand in mobility and power production is insufficient on its own and more action is needed to direct clean molecules to where they are most needed — and at a lower cost.
Korea’s Basic Hydrogen Implementation Plan, introduced in 2021, targeted clean hydrogen demand of 3.9 million tonnes of H2 per year by 2030, almost all of which would be used in power production or mobility.
The country has subsequently introduced substantial subsidies for hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles and buses, as well as auctions for clean hydrogen-based power capacity.
“Korea focuses on demand-side policies to kick off the market for clean hydrogen, specifically by incentivising the use of hydrogen in electricity generation and mobility,” the IEA said in its Korea 2025 Energy Policy Review, released yesterday.