The Korean Government Takes Direct Action Against Climate Change Through Challenging Research

Direct Capture of Carbon Dioxide from Air, Development of Digital Prediction and Damage Prevention Technologies

The government will directly capture carbon dioxide from the air to reduce it while developing technologies to predict climate change and minimize damage. The plan is to solve the challenges of the climate crisis through ambitious research projects.

On the 13th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it will carry out new research and development (R&D) projects (2 projects, 3 tasks) in the climate and environment fields to address climate issues using science and technology.

First, starting next year for three years, 19.7 billion KRW will be invested to develop core technologies for Direct Air Carbon Capture and Utilization (DACU). Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology is one of the sub-technologies of Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU). Although it is at an early stage globally, it is expected to play a key role in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 as a promising carbon-neutral technology.

To reduce greenhouse gases, it is necessary to strengthen energy strategies centered on low-carbon renewable energy. However, since a considerable amount of time and resources are required for a complete transition to low-carbon renewable energy, CCUS technology, which processes and utilizes emitted carbon dioxide, is attracting attention as a bridging technology during the energy transition process. The International Energy Agency (IEA) also expects CCUS technology to account for about 15% (10 billion tons annually) of the total global carbon dioxide reduction by 2070. The project consists of two tasks: development of core and demonstration-based technologies for direct air capture (DAC) and development of core technologies for simultaneous capture and conversion of carbon dioxide from the air (RCC).

In addition, starting next year for four years, 34.76 billion KRW will be invested to develop digital-based climate change prediction and damage minimization technologies. Using digital technology, the project will predict the impact of abnormal weather such as heavy rain, drought, and cold waves on cities and develop technologies to minimize damage and losses caused by abnormal weather. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that for every 1°C increase in the global average temperature, extreme weather events that used to occur about once every 50 years during the industrial era (1850?1900) will occur 4.8 times more frequently, and this frequency is expected to increase exponentially.

This research is planned as a single project consisting of full-cycle technology development tasks for climate change adaptation, including digital twin-based urban climate change impact monitoring and damage detection technology, development of functional materials and active utilization systems for buffering urban climate change impact damage, and urban climate change impact experimental simulation (U-Ecotron) technology.

Gu Hyeok-chae, Director of Basic and Fundamental Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "To achieve carbon neutrality and respond to the climate crisis, it is essential to develop new technologies that have never existed before and apply them to industry and the field. We will continue to support challenging R&D to secure high-impact core technologies targeting 2030 and 2050."

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