Ministry of Industry to Establish 'HVDC Technology Development and Industrialization' Blueprint Within the Year

The 3rd HVDC Technology and Industry Forum Held

The government has decided to establish a blueprint for the 'Development and Industrialization of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Technology' within this year.

On the 1st, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the 3rd HVDC Technology and Industry Forum at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul to review the achievements of each sector in 2024 and discuss future directions.

First, the Ministry plans to promote full-cycle technology development?'development-demonstration-commercialization'?through joint cooperation between the government and the private sector to advance domestic technology development and industrialization amid the global expansion of voltage-source HVDC demand and competitive technology development. The ongoing identification of key technologies and competitiveness analysis will be completed within the year, followed by prompt procedures such as deriving the required budget and reviewing preliminary feasibility studies. At the same time, demonstration projects to apply the developed products in practice will be concretized.

The forum has completed the development of monitoring and analysis technologies for mutual impacts between the East Coast?Capital Region HVDC and generators connected to the existing AC power grid. Utilizing this, a full-scale system impact review is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year. Through this, the Ministry expects to dispel concerns that 'HVDC introduction might affect generators' and enable stable grid operation.

Lee Ok-heon, Director of Power Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "HVDC is gaining attention as an effective future power grid for linking renewable energy such as offshore wind power. Korea has already secured 200 MW-class voltage-source HVDC technology, and leveraging this, the government, companies, and public institutions will join forces to establish a full-cycle success model leading to the development and industrialization of GW-class voltage-source HVDC technology."