• South Korea publishes ambitious hydrogen economy plan

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      Patrick Lavery

      Combustion Industry News Editor

Joining Japan in the quest for a hydrogen economy is South Korea, with the country’s government releasing in January a roadmap for the long-term replacement of fossil fuels with the elemental gas. As Hankyoreh reports, the plan concentrates on the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles, though some fuel cells will also be used for industrial applications, with the target being a rise from 0.3 GW of installed fuel cells for industry in 2018 rising to 15 GW by 2040 – close to a 5000% rise in 22 years. The article sees electric vehicles, renewables and energy storage as competitors to hydrogen, but this may be an erroneous separation – hydrogen, for instance, may become a widespread form of renewable energy storage, as hydrogen can be produced from renewables. The roadmap has received criticism for being overly optimistic and, perhaps more seriously, for prioritising one clean technology over another.