South Korea Transfers Hydrogen Technology Standards Knowledge to 10 APEC Member Economies

Korea Hydrogen Union Holds Workshop at APEC Standards Conformity Subcommittee
Knowledge Transfer on Hydrogen Technology Standards to 10 APEC Member Countries
Discussion on Hydrogen Industry Policy, Technology Development, and Standard Certification

APEC workshop key officials posing for a commemorative photo. (From left: Kim Hyojung, Researcher, International Standard Cooperation Division, KATS; Lee Eungro, Director, International Standard Cooperation Division; Meg Lee, President, Taiwan Hydrogen Fuel Cell Partnership; Katerina Alexoska, Secretary General, Australian Hydrogen Association; Han Sangmi, Secretary General, Korea Hydrogen Union; Ha Yoonhee, Professor, Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Korea University; Choi Yongnam, Senior Researcher, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute; Park Jinnam, Professor, Kyungil University; Feng Chengli, Researcher, China National Institute of Standardization). February 26, 2025. Provided by Korea Hydrogen Union.

The Korea Hydrogen Union (Chairman Kim Jae-hong) announced that on the 26th, it held a workshop on the "Establishment of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Standard Certification System" under the Standards Conformity Subcommittee (SCSC) in Gyeongju, where the 1st Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2025 is being held, and transferred specialized knowledge of hydrogen technology standards to 10 APEC countries.

The Standards Conformity Subcommittee is a subcommittee under the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) within APEC that deals with standards and conformity assessments for specific technologies or products. In this workshop, the standard certification system in the hydrogen economy and hydrogen fuel cell sectors, led by South Korea, was specially selected as the topic.

Sponsored by the National Institute of Technology and Standards and organized by the Korea Hydrogen Union, the workshop was attended by about 40 participants from 10 APEC member countries. Three Korean experts and three foreign experts (from Taiwan, Australia, and China) presented a total of six topics across three sessions covering hydrogen industry policy, hydrogen technology development and regulation, and hydrogen standards and certification.

First, in the hydrogen industry policy session, Professor Ha Yun-hee of Korea University's Green School presented "Korea's Hydrogen Industry Ecosystem and Trends," showcasing Korea's best practices. Meg Lin, Chair of the Taiwan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Partnership (THFCP), presented "Global Hydrogen Policy Trends and Key Challenges."

In the hydrogen technology development and regulation session, Professor Park Jin-nam of Kyungil University introduced the status of Korea's full-cycle hydrogen technology development and R&D achievements, while Katerina Aleksoska, Secretary-General of the Australian Hydrogen Council (H2Council), presented "Australia's Hydrogen Technology Development Status and Regulatory Policy Support System."

In the hydrogen standards and certification session, Chief Researcher Choi Yong-nam of the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute presented "Current Status and Prospects of International Standards for Hydrogen Technology," focusing on the activities of the International Organization for Standardization Hydrogen Technology Committee (ISO/TC197). Pengcheng Li, a researcher at the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS), explained the evaluation methods for clean and low-carbon hydrogen standards.

The Korea Hydrogen Union conducted a survey on hydrogen economy awareness among APEC member countries, analyzing participants' knowledge of the hydrogen economy overall, awareness of the importance of hydrogen technology standardization, and the effectiveness of the workshop. The results will be published as an APEC project report in the future.

Kim Jae-hong, Chairman of the Korea Hydrogen Union, stated, "At the 2024 APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting, the 'Policy Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Clean and Low-Carbon Hydrogen Policy Systems (APEC Hydrogen Policy Guidelines)' were adopted, making cooperation among regional member countries on clean and low-carbon hydrogen standardization extremely important." He added, "We will strengthen our expertise so that Korea can lead clean and low-carbon hydrogen standardization through this workshop."