Korea and Chile sign an MOU to cooperate in hydrogen

Korea's Vice Industry Minister Park Ki-young poses with Chilean Minister for Energy and Mining Juan Carlos Jobet at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Tuesday. [MINISTRY OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY]

Korea and Chile signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in the low-carbon hydrogen sector, Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday.

Korea's Vice Industry Minister Park Ki-young held a signing ceremony with Chilean Minister for Energy and Mining Juan Carlos Jobet for the agreement, which calls for exchanging technologies of producing, storing, transporting and using clean hydrogen, according to Seoul's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The two sides also vowed joint efforts to create more business chances in the related fields, it added.

"The combination of Korea's technologies and experiences, and Chile's renewable energy resources is expected to help establish an economical hydrogen supply network and expand low-carbon hydrogen trade markets," the ministry said in a release.

Korea has been pushing for an energy transition policy based on hydrogen, a clean alternative to fossil fuels, in accordance with the country's goal to go carbon neutral by 2050.

Chile also pledged to become a leading clean energy supplier in the world based on its vast renewable energy resources, and has been working to produce green hydrogen and to deepen international cooperation.

The two sides also discussed ways to boost cooperation in minerals and renewable energy fields.

"Vice Minister Park voiced hope that more South Korean firms can take part in energy projects in Chile so as to help secure a stable supply channel of such key resources as lithium," the ministry said in a release.

The vice minister also proposed active joint research on solar and other renewable energy developments, it added.
Yonhap