Korea-Australia Cooperation in Low-Carbon Technologies Including Clean Hydrogen

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] South Korea and Australia are expanding cooperation in low-carbon technology fields such as clean hydrogen.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the "30th Korea-Australia Energy and Resources Cooperation Committee" via video conference with the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on the 8th and 9th to discuss this matter. The Korea-Australia Energy and Resources Cooperation Committee (at the director-general level) is an official cooperation body between the two countries in the energy and mineral resources sectors, regularly held since 1980.

At this meeting, the two countries shared the current status of their energy policies, including South Korea's 2050 Carbon Neutrality Promotion Strategy and Australia's Low-Carbon Technology Statement, and explored cooperation measures in energy and resource fields such as low-carbon technology, critical minerals, and natural gas.

First, the Australian side proposed establishing a "Low-Carbon Technology Partnership," which includes joint research and development (R&D) on low-carbon technologies such as clean hydrogen and ammonia, CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage), and green steel.

The two countries plan to derive specific cooperation areas through future working-level consultations and reviews.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "We expect cooperation between the two countries to expand not only in traditional resource sectors such as minerals and natural gas but also into future-oriented fields for realizing carbon neutrality, including hydrogen, renewable energy, energy storage systems (ESS), and CCUS."

The two countries reached a consensus that cooperation should be strengthened in the rare metals sector, including nickel, lithium, and rare earths, where demand is expected to increase due to the transition to carbon neutrality and clean energy. To this end, they agreed to conduct a working-level "Critical Minerals Cooperation Dialogue" and to specify cooperation measures by discovering joint resource development projects and R&D tasks.

Additionally, Australia, as South Korea's second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer, agreed to continue mutually beneficial investment and cooperation to ensure stable LNG supply and demand. As of last year, South Korea imported about 7.97 million tons of LNG from Australia, accounting for 19.9% of total LNG imports.

South Korea introduced plans to soon prepare detailed implementation strategies by sector, including industry, transportation, and energy, based on the "2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenario."

The Australian government stated that it plans to significantly increase investment in low-carbon technologies in the future and hopes to further strengthen cooperation with South Korea, a key partner in the energy and resources sectors.

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