"Need for Standards on High-Temperature Solid Oxide Electrolysis Equipment"… SME Ombudsman Roundtable

S.O.S. Talk Held at the North Chungcheong Headquarters of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency

Seungjae Choi, the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman, announced on the 15th that an "S.O.S. Talk (SME Roundtable)" was held at the North Chungcheong Regional Headquarters of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

Seungjae Choi, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman. Yonhap News Agency

S.O.S. Talk is a joint roundtable that has been held since 2015 by the Small and Medium Business Ombudsman and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency to resolve regulatory difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups.

This roundtable was attended by more than 20 participants, including Ombudsman Seungjae Choi, representatives of SMEs and startups in North Chungcheong Province, Hwang Intak, Head of the North Chungcheong Regional Headquarters of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, and Kim Myungjin, Head of the Northern North Chungcheong Branch of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

During the roundtable, Company A, which manufactures automotive parts, battery packs, and hydrogen fuel cell components, requested the establishment of new standards for the use of high-temperature solid oxide electrolysis equipment.

North Chungcheong Province has been actively promoting the hydrogen industry, starting with the enactment of Korea’s first ordinance to support hydrogen industry development in 2018 and its designation as a Green Hydrogen Regulatory Free Zone.

Company A stated, "All the facility, technology, and inspection standards applied to water electrolysis equipment manufacturing currently apply only to low-temperature (below 100°C) electrolysis equipment, and do not include high-temperature (700°C~900°C) equipment, which makes commercialization difficult. Furthermore, there is currently no authorized testing method to verify the thermal expansion and high-temperature airtightness of the ceramic electrolyte, which is the core of solid oxide electrolysis cells, making product certification impossible."

As there are no established safety standards for solid oxide electrolysis equipment operated in high-temperature environments, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, which oversees this matter, is currently operating under a regulatory sandbox exemption. The ministry plans to institutionalize these standards next year, reflecting the results of the pilot projects.

In addition, participants proposed various measures to address on-site regulatory and operational challenges, including: ▲ simplifying administrative procedures for minor changes in labeling on food packaging materials, ▲ improving the safety management system for textile products to accommodate small-lot, multi-product manufacturing, and ▲ expanding export support for intellectual property (IP)-based content companies.

Ombudsman Choi stated, "As improving unreasonable regulations directly contributes to strengthening the competitiveness of regional industries, we will continue to expand field-oriented communication channels in each region. I hope that today's discussion will serve as a catalyst for innovation among SMEs in North Chungcheong Province and help reinforce the foundation for sustainable growth."

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