Green Hydrogen and Chile's Road Map Towards an Increasingly Sustainable Energy Matrix
Date: September 12, 2023 09:00~10:15 PM (KST)
Host: Chilean Pacific Foundation
South Korea wants to start importing green ammonia from 2025, but Chile – working to become a major global exporter – will likely need more time to bring large-scale production online.
The Asian nation has recently beefed up its hydrogen plans and is looking to employ hydrogen and its derivatives in the transport, power generation and industrial sectors.
Like many Asian and European countries, South Korea will need to purchase overseas to help cover demand.
“We need to import green hydrogen in the form of green ammonia, beginning in 2025, according to our roadmap and plan,” said Younkyoo Kim, director of the energy and environment institute at South Korea’s Hanyang university.
“This is a little bit different in terms of timing of production from the Chilean side. We need to import earlier than the production schedule; that’s the problem we have found.”
Chile is among potential global suppliers blinking on South Korea’s radar, Kim told a hydrogen event hosted by Fundación Chilena del Pacífico, an organization tasked with supporting Chile’s economic insertion in the Pacific basin.
Under Chile’s national hydrogen strategy, the country aims to be producing 200,000t/y by end-2025. A 1,600t/y project, aimed at the domestic market in its first phase, recently entered the environmental review system, becoming the first of its kind seeking the green light in Chile.
Experts say the country must accelerate plans to ensure projects secure electrolyzers before a projected global output bottleneck materializes.
Kim, who conducted hydrogen research in Latin America for electricity utility Korea Electric Power Corporation and met with energy minister Diego Pardow this year, said timing was the “number one priority” of his country, which is looking to start by importing at least 5Mt.
By 2050, hydrogen consumption in South Korea is projected to reach 27Mt, with power generation accounting for around half.
“What we need is green [hydrogen],” Kim said. “When it comes to green, we need to import, and that’s how Chile and Korea are bound together.”
Kim said Chile had a “very good hydrogen plan” and was likely to achieve its ambition of becoming the leading global hydrogen exporter, adding that the two nations should align their hydrogen strategies.
Other priorities for South Korea, he said, are signing long-term offtake agreements, potentially with equity stakes, and addressing the issue of standards adoption.
Meanwhile, Chilean energy minister Diego Pardow, alluding to state subsidy schemes announced elsewhere, said in a presentation during the event: “Other markets are developing initiatives for their internal development, which could be attractive initially but could contravene international trade rules.” He added that quality certification work was among the government’s hydrogen priorities.
Pardow, in response to a question from BNamericas, said Chile’s green hydrogen roadmap, which complements an existing national hydrogen strategy, was due to go out to public consultation next quarter.
In Chile’s favor is a state policy push, stable operating environment, and abundant solar and wind resources.
If you would like to read the article with more details, please refer to the attached file. Allan,B. (2023, Sep 12). Bnamericas. South Korea hungry for hydrogen as expert urges strategy alignment with Chile.
2023-09-07
