The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 6th that it held a 'Year-end Breakfast Meeting for the Hydrogen Industry' chaired by Lee Ho-yeon, Director of the Energy Policy Office, hosted by the Hydrogen Convergence Alliance (H2 Korea) at The Plaza Hotel in Seoul.
The meeting was attended by a total of 30 major domestic hydrogen ecosystem companies and institutions, including hydrogen production (Lotte Chemical, SK E&S, Hyosung, etc.), distribution (Air Liquide, Air Products), utilization (Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Rotem, Doosan Fuel Cell, etc.), and equipment and materials (Doosan Enerbility, Iljin High Solus, etc.).
Byung-hwa Han, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, who gave a presentation on the theme of 'The Dawn of the Hydrogen Era,' forecasted that global hydrogen investment will steadily increase based on hydrogen policies of major countries such as the United States and the European Union (EU), as well as investment plans in hydrogen by traditional oil and gas companies.
The United States provides up to $3 per kilogram of hydrogen produced under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and plans to support a total of $7 billion for seven hydrogen hubs. The EU plans to install 5 gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis facilities by 2025 and produce and import 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen by 2030 under the REPowerEU plan. Global oil companies such as Shell, BP, and Exxon plan to pursue more than 30 large-scale clean hydrogen production projects by 2030.
Participating companies in the meeting requested active policy support necessary for the economic feasibility and technology acquisition for clean hydrogen production, as well as policy interest in the application of reasonable safety regulations considering the characteristics of the early-stage hydrogen industry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported.
Lee Ho-hyun, Director of the Energy Policy Office, stated, "The government designated hydrogen as a national strategic technology this year, strengthening tax benefits related to research and development and facility investment in six major hydrogen technologies including electrolysis, and is actively working to resolve corporate investment difficulties through the public-private consultative body for hydrogen industry regulatory innovation." He added, "We will continue to communicate actively with the industry for the sustainable development of the hydrogen economy and focus policy capabilities on the smooth opening of next year's Clean Hydrogen Power Supply (CHPS) bidding market, as well as the transition to a clean hydrogen-based ecosystem and promotion of corporate investment."
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