Martial Arts: "To Enhance Competitiveness in the Hydrogen Economy, Accelerate Securing Fundamental and Independent Technologies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] To secure competitiveness in the global market surrounding the hydrogen economy, there is a call to focus all efforts on developing technologies related to green hydrogen production that emits no carbon dioxide and hydrogen supply infrastructure.

According to the "Future of the Upcoming Hydrogen Economy: Focusing on Major Countries' Policy Trends and Implications" report published by the Korea International Trade Association's International Trade and Commerce Research Institute, the hydrogen economy is expected to create a hydrogen and related equipment market worth $2.5 trillion annually by 2050 (approximately 3,000 trillion KRW) and more than 30 million cumulative jobs. Major countries such as Germany, Japan, and China are also promoting the hydrogen economy as a promising future industry.

The report stated, "As the global green hydrogen production cost declines, major governments increase investments in the hydrogen economy, hydrogen mobility leads in commercial vehicles, and the fuel cell market for power generation and buildings expands, the transition to a hydrogen economy is accelerating, resulting in fierce competition among countries to dominate the global market."

Among them, Europe is currently leading in green hydrogen production and supply. The European Union (EU) plans to establish 6 gigawatts (GW) of water electrolysis facilities by 2024 to produce 1 million tons of green hydrogen annually and expand this to 10 million tons by 2030.

Japan is focusing on overseas hydrogen production. It is conducting projects to produce hydrogen cheaply in countries such as Australia and Brunei and then import it back domestically, with imports expected to begin in earnest from next year.

South Korea shows world-class competitiveness in hydrogen utilization aspects such as mobility and fuel cells for power generation but appears relatively behind in hydrogen production and supply infrastructure. Accordingly, the report said, "To secure external competitiveness early, South Korea must concentrate investment on developing core technologies related to green hydrogen and infrastructure construction, striving to increase green hydrogen production volume and reduce production costs."

It also stated, "The government should expand support for green hydrogen research and development (R&D) and actively encourage participation not only from national research institutes but also from domestic and international private research organizations to develop core technologies." It added, "Technology development related to hydrogen supply is also urgently needed to secure economic feasibility. In South Korea, where petrochemicals are well developed, converting hydrogen into liquid ammonia compounds could be advantageous as existing infrastructure can be utilized."

Furthermore, it advised, "With global information technology (IT) companies such as Apple declaring carbon neutrality one after another, industries must also pay attention to expanding the use of renewable energy, product design considering recycling, innovation in materials and processes, and business transformation toward greenhouse gas emission reduction and eco-friendly, low-carbon operations to be included in these global supply chains."

Jeong Gwi-il, a research fellow at the Korea International Trade Association, said, "Export industrialization of the hydrogen economy plays a positive role in establishing a virtuous cycle structure of 'achieving economies of scale → lowering product prices → expanding markets.'" He added, "For export industrialization, efforts must be made to domestically develop core technologies currently dependent on overseas sources and independently produce components."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.