Launch of the "Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization, and Storage Task Force"... Leading Industry Promotion, Technology Development, and Workforce Training

Major Companies in Steel, Cement, Petrochemicals, Public Enterprises, and Research Institutions Participate
Government to Expand Demonstration Investments and Secure Commercially Viable Technologies by 2025

K-CCUS Promotion Team Organization Chart.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The public-private joint 'K-CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) Promotion Team,' which will lead the development of carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage technology, industrial promotion, and workforce training, was launched on the 7th.

On the 7th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it held the 'K-CCUS Promotion Team' inauguration ceremony at COEX and discussed ways to strengthen public-private cooperation.

Starting with the European Union (EU) in December 2019, major countries such as China (September 2020) and Japan (October 2020) declared carbon neutrality. Subsequently, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged carbon neutrality and signed an executive order to rejoin the Paris Agreement in January this year, making carbon neutrality a global economic order. As carbon neutrality discussions spread worldwide, the importance of CCUS for handling unavoidable carbon dioxide emissions is also increasing.

So far, the Korean government has promoted CCUS technology development, achieving results such as securing technology applicable to commercial-scale coal power generation through long-term demonstration of coal power capture facilities (10 MW). However, the government believes that closer public-private cooperation is necessary to accelerate commercialization and the creation of new CCUS industries.

Accordingly, the public-private joint K-CCUS Promotion Team will serve as the hub of cooperation and the control tower for CCUS expansion, leading public and private efforts for CCUS new industrialization.

The K-CCUS Promotion Team includes over 50 major companies in steel, cement, petrochemicals, and 10 energy public enterprises such as Korea National Oil Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and five power generation public enterprises, as well as Korea Gas Safety Corporation, 15 research institutions, and more than 20 universities, totaling over 80 organizations. The team will identify industry technology development demands, discover policy needs, and prepare measures to spread CCUS achievements and revitalize the industrial ecosystem to propose to the government. It will also operate a permanent secretariat to foster the CCUS industry, activate domestic and international technology and information exchange, conduct technology development and workforce training, and manage international cooperation tasks.

The government plans to actively support CCUS as a new industry and secure a leading position in the emerging global climate crisis response market through multi-ministerial projects, as outlined in the 'CCUS Promotion Status and Plan.' First, it will promote phased demonstration projects to establish medium-scale testbeds for major industries such as steel, cement, petrochemicals, hydrogen, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) power generation, aiming to secure commercial-scale capture technology for each major sector by 2024. Additionally, through a medium-scale integrated demonstration project utilizing the safe Donghae gas field, it plans to store a total of 12 million tons of carbon dioxide (400,000 tons annually) starting in 2025 and advance technology across the entire capture, transport, and storage cycle. Utilization technologies will be selected for early demonstration and commercialization, with concentrated R&D investment to support early commercialization of CCU technologies.

Efforts will also be made to establish a CCUS industrial foundation and improve regulations. By 2023, a large-scale storage site with economic feasibility and safety, capable of storing 100 million tons, will be secured through domestic continental shelf exploration and drilling, with additional storage sites pursued by 2030. Furthermore, the government will jointly initiate work within this year with related ministries to enact the 'Act on CCUS Industry Promotion and Safety Management,' which will include measures for CCUS technology development, enterprise fostering, and safety and environmental management systems for facilities.

Lee Ho-hyun, Director of Energy Innovation Policy at the Ministry of Industry, said, "Collaboration between the public and private sectors is essential to reduce greenhouse gases through CCUS technology and to develop the CCUS industry into a climate response new industry with global competitiveness. The government, as a member of the promotion team, will do its best to support technology development, commercialization, and new industry creation based on private sector demand."

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