Businesses step up push for hydrogen support

Park Young-il (center, front row), deputy minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and participants pose for a photo at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul on Tuesday. (IFC)

The South Korean government should help companies build a hydrogen economy because using the renewable energy ensures growth as businesses race to reduce their carbon footprint, Woo Tae-hee, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Tuesday at a forum on green hydrogen.

“I believe it is time for us to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity to secure the hydrogen market and improve our economy with strong commitment and collective wisdom,” Woo said at the meeting jointly hosted by the KCCI and the International Finance Corporation.

The vice chairman called on the Yoon Suk-yeol government to lay out what he said was a foundation to embolden companies to tap into the emerging market.

Woo was referring to revisions to a regulation defining how companies should use hydrogen and what types of government support they would be given for exploring the latest technology. The National Assembly approved the new law Sunday after a yearlong deliberation.

Park Young-il, deputy minister for international affairs at the Finance Ministry, said South Korea was the first major economy to have come up with a dedicated legal framework on hydrogen, adding support for a hydrogen economy would go beyond aiding the private sector to expand investment.

“We will be utilizing all of our international networks including trust funds in international organizations … to build strategic partnerships with hydrogen producers,” Park said at the forum.

Park added that the transition to a hydrogen economy would be rewarding as the shift would help reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels for a more sustainable economy.

Alfonso Garcia Mora, regional vice president for Asia and the Pacific at the IFC, highlighted innovative financial instruments as key to scaling up hydrogen production and making it commercially and environmentally viable in the long run.

By Choi Si-young(siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)