South Korea announces plan for hydrogen-based economy

 

Seoul, Aug 12, 2005 -- BBC Monitoring

 

South Korea aims to become a functioning hydrogen economy by 2040, with a sizeable part of its transportation, power generation and household appliances operating on eco-friendly fuel cells, the government said Friday [12 August].

In a meeting of economic ministers chaired by Minister of Finance and Economy Han Duck-soo, the government signed off on the ambitious proposal, which calls for more than half of all cars to operate on fuel cells by the target date. The blueprint, drawn up by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Economy, also calls for 22 per cent of all power generation and 23 per cent of electricity used by homes to be run on fuel cells. Fuel cells work by harnessing the almost limitless energy generated by separating electrons and protons from hydrogen molecules and converting it into electricity to power cars, run factories and operate machines. The plan is part of a long-term government effort to establish a clean alternative source of energy for the time when the world's fossil fuel resources are expected to dry up around the middle of this century. "South Korea relies heavily on fossil fuel, making it imperative to take serious action to develop energy resources that will not dry up," a government expert said. He added that the United States, Japan and European Union were already committed to developing this technology, which could become a 95bn-dollar global business if a technological breakthrough is made by 2010. If all goes according to plan, hydrogen-based fuel cells will account for 8 per cent of the gross domestic product by 2040, the official said, adding that up to a million new jobs and a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide can be expected.

Source: Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0724 gmt 12 Aug 05

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