'Clean Hydrogen' Must Emit 'Less Than 4 kg of Greenhouse Gases per 1 kg of Hydrogen'

Prime Minister Chairs 6th Hydrogen Economy Committee Meeting
Clean Hydrogen Certified in 4 Grades Based on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Achieve 80% Localization Rate of Core Materials in 10 Strategic Sectors by 2030
Target to Deploy 300,000 Hydrogen Vehicles and Build Over 660 Hydrogen Stations

From now on, hydrogen with greenhouse gas emissions of 4 kg or less per 1 kg will be certified as clean hydrogen and eligible for incentive support.

On the 18th, the government held the '6th Hydrogen Economy Committee' chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, where they presented and discussed agenda items including the operation plan for the clean hydrogen certification system.

Previously, in November last year, the government presented the 'New Government Hydrogen Economy Policy Direction' at the 5th Hydrogen Economy Committee, focusing on ▲creating large-scale hydrogen demand ▲establishing clean hydrogen infrastructure and systems ▲fostering a world-leading hydrogen industry. Based on this, hydrogen was designated as a national strategic technology in March this year, and the world's first hydrogen power generation bidding market was opened (in June this year). Additionally, during summits, agreements on hydrogen cooperation were made with major countries and companies such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Japan, promoting the establishment of a clean hydrogen ecosystem and the development of the hydrogen industry.

Clean Hydrogen Classified into Grades 1 to 4 Based on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The clean hydrogen certification system certifies hydrogen as clean if the greenhouse gas emissions during hydrogen production and import processes are below a certain level, enabling administrative and financial support. As the role of clean hydrogen in carbon neutrality and achieving the 2030 national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC) has emerged, major countries are preparing clean hydrogen standards and support measures tailored to their conditions. For example, the United States announced clean hydrogen certification standards (4 grades) and support systems through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the United Kingdom also announced clean hydrogen certification standards aiming for implementation in 2025.

Korea's clean hydrogen certification is based on emissions during the 'raw material extraction to hydrogen production' process, set at greenhouse gas emissions of 4 kg CO2e or less per 1 kg (excluding ship emissions, etc.). It is divided into four levels based on greenhouse gas emissions: ▲0?0.1 kg CO2e: Grade 1 ▲0.1?1 kg CO2e: Grade 2 ▲1?2 kg CO2e: Grade 3 ▲2?4 kg CO2e: Grade 4. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to specify certification standards and emission calculation methods in detailed operational notices.

The certification review committee, hosted and operated by the certification management agency, will make the final decision on certification based on document review and on-site verification results. Additionally, to verify the maintenance of certification standards and consistency between reported information and actual production status, regular investigations and inspections will be conducted at least once a year.

Targeting 80% Localization Rate of Hydrogen Materials, Parts, and Equipment in 10 Strategic Fields by 2030

The committee also announced the 'Hydrogen Industry Materials, Parts, and Equipment (SoBuJang) Development Strategy' on the same day. To foster the hydrogen materials, parts, and equipment industry, 40 items in 10 key hydrogen fields were identified, including water electrolysis, hydrogen charging stations, hydrogen transport vehicles, liquid hydrogen carriers, and fuel cells for mobility. Support will be provided for ▲securing core technologies ▲promoting commercialization ▲strengthening supply chains. Through this, the government expects to achieve an 80% localization rate of SoBuJang in the 10 strategic fields by 2030 and nurture 20 global SoBuJang companies, thereby strengthening the hydrogen industry SoBuJang ecosystem and encouraging active overseas market entry by companies.

Additionally, aiming to supply 300,000 hydrogen vehicles and build more than 660 hydrogen charging stations by 2030, policy measures were prepared to ▲expand hydrogen vehicle deployment focusing on commercial vehicles such as hydrogen buses ▲expand hydrogen charging stations including liquefied hydrogen stations and integrated hydrogen charging stations ▲strengthen hydrogen supply and demand response systems and diversify supply in response to increasing hydrogen demand. The government plans to cooperate with local governments to convert city buses, short-distance intercity buses, and metropolitan buses to hydrogen buses, and to promote replacement of public sector directly operated buses, expanding the number of hydrogen buses from 582 as of November this year to 21,200 by 2030. Efforts will also be made to improve conditions for the deployment of cargo and special vehicles by promoting pilot projects for hydrogen car carriers, refrigerated trucks, tractors, and discovering zero-emission logistics complexes introducing hydrogen cargo vehicles and forklifts.

Alongside this, the government plans to establish focused research laboratories for each water electrolysis technology to conduct basic and core research for technology localization and support performance evaluation to secure technology reliability.

Meanwhile, as a pre-event on the same day, three business agreements were signed among major domestic and international hydrogen companies. Leading domestic companies in key SoBuJang fields such as liquefied hydrogen tanks, electrode materials, and separators?including LG Chem, SK E&S, Hyosung Heavy Industries, Bloom Energy, and SK Ecoplant?along with major domestic and foreign demand companies, pledged to cooperate on technology development and supply chain establishment.