Korea-Australia Strengthen Cooperation on Carbon Neutral Technology and Critical Mineral Supply Chains

Park Ki-young, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, held a meeting with David Fredericks, Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, on the 24th (local time) at the reception room of Sydney Airport, Australia, to discuss hydrogen cooperation, CCUS cooperation, and critical minerals cooperation between Korea and Australia.

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Our government discussed cooperation plans on carbon-neutral technologies and critical mineral supply chains with Australia.

On the 24th, Park Ki-young, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with David Fredericks, Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, at Sydney Airport, Australia, to exchange views on cooperation plans related to carbon-neutral technologies, the clean hydrogen economy, and critical mineral supply chains. This meeting was a follow-up to the bilateral summit held in December last year.

Vice Minister Park and Deputy Secretary Fredericks shared their countries' roadmaps for carbon-neutral technology development and agreed to jointly invest in clean hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) cooperation projects next year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to invest 5.4 billion KRW over the next three years, and the Australian government also agreed to invest a corresponding amount.

Both sides discussed intergovernmental cooperation tasks covering the entire hydrogen economy cycle. They mentioned cooperation plans to establish joint evaluation standards for clean hydrogen and support measures for Korean companies promoting hydrogen production projects in Australia. Our side also proposed a joint pilot project to create a hydrogen bus ecosystem in Australia based on domestic hydrogen fuel cell technology.

They discussed promoting international joint research for innovative technology development and securing large-scale storage related to carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), as well as ways to activate international exchanges between CCUS specialized institutions of both countries.

Regarding critical minerals, as a follow-up to the "Critical Mineral Supply Chain Cooperation MOU" signed by the two heads of state at the end of last year, they discussed critical mineral policies, potential cooperation projects, and mutual financial support measures. To support this, the Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation and the Australian Minerals Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focusing on sharing mine project information and supporting investment matching between companies of both countries.

In addition, the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning and the Australian Department of Industry, Energy and Resources signed a "Korea-Australia Clean Hydrogen Joint Research Cooperation MOU," among a total of six MOUs signed between working-level agencies and companies in the fields of the hydrogen economy, CCUS, and critical minerals.

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