[Asia Future Business Forum] POSTECH Professor Yoon Changwon: "Carbon Neutrality Must Be Achieved Through 'Hydrogen'"

Emphasizing the Importance of 'Ammonia·LOHC'

Professor Changwon Yoon of the Department of Chemical Engineering at POSTECH is giving a lecture at the "2022 Asia Future Business Forum" held on the 27th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-ho Kim] Professor Yoon Chang-won, a professor of chemical engineering at POSTECH and director of the Hydrogen Low-Carbon Research Center at the Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (RIST), emphasized on the 27th that "carbon neutrality must be achieved through 'hydrogen'."

Professor Yoon made this remark during his lecture on "Future Industry and Circular Economy" at the 10th 2022 Asia Future Business Forum held at the Western Chosun Hotel in Seoul.

In his lecture, he presented trends in the development of chemical hydrogen storage and transportation technologies necessary for the growth of new industries in Korea. Professor Yoon stated, "If we use 100% renewable energy without fossil fuels, global carbon neutrality can be realized," adding, "Technological innovation in hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization is required to realize the hydrogen economy."

He also noted, "Renewable energy has significant regional disparities between production and supply," and said, "To address this, it is necessary to use hydrogen as a carrier of renewable energy to store and supply energy."

Specifically, he emphasized the importance of 'ammonia and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC)' for large-scale hydrogen storage and transportation. According to Professor Yoon, Japan has transported hydrogen produced in Brunei to Japan over long distances using LOHC. He also mentioned that Korea is conducting basic research related to 'ammonia and LOHC.'

Meanwhile, in his lecture, Professor Yoon introduced the "six strategic technologies in the hydrogen low-carbon field for achieving carbon neutrality" established and promoted by POSCO Future Technology Research Institute. The six strategic technologies are ▲low-temperature water electrolysis ▲high-temperature water electrolysis ▲by-product hydrogen ▲blue hydrogen/CCUS ▲ammonia hydrogen extraction ▲ammonia co-firing power generation. Professor Yoon explained, "We are internalizing core technologies by promoting industry-academia-research collaboration in R&D," and added, "It is expected to lead the growth of Korea's carbon-neutral new industries in the future."