S.Korea, Chile to enhance cooperation for green hydrogen

South Korea is exploring ways to cooperate with Chile in the transition toward a hydrogen economy and clean hydrogen production, as Chile has abundant renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Chile's 4,000-km north-south land mass allows it to harness the high solar radiation in the northern region for solar power generation and strong winds in the south for wind power generation, making it one of the countries with the world's largest potential for renewable energy, and is considered as a country with strong potential in clean hydrogen production based on these sources.

Ahn Dukgeun, the Korean Minister for Trade, and Diego Pardo, the Minister of the Chilean Department of Energy, who visited Korea, met on Monday at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seoul to discuss hydrogen energy cooperation, among other topics.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Korea and Chile.

The two countries held a Chile-Korea hydrogen cooperation seminar with government officials from both countries, including Minister Ahn and Minister Pardo, as well as representatives from public organizations and companies such as Hyundai Motor and InvestChile.

Minister Ahn said, "The Korean government is making policy efforts to create a clean hydrogen ecosystem and foster the world's leading hydrogen industry for the transition to a hydrogen-based economy," and emphasized the need for cooperation between the two countries to lead the hydrogen economy.

Minister Pardo introduced Chile's promising green hydrogen production environment and explained the country's clean hydrogen policy during his keynote speech.

The Korean ministry explained, "Chile is actively pursuing a policy to move toward a hydrogen economy, such as being the first country in Latin America to announce a national hydrogen strategy," and expressed expectations for Korean companies to explore business opportunities in Chile's hydrogen car and fuel cell industries.

Write to Han-Shin Park at phs@hankyung.com