▲Key detailed tasks (Image source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

Target of up to 20% hydrogen mixing in city gas pipelines
Expected to reduce carbon emissions by 7.56 million tons annually

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Korea Gas Safety Corporation, and other industry, academia and research institutes are preparing for a future hydrogen society by establishing hydrogen mixing standards that can reduce carbon emissions and secure the economic benefits of large-scale hydrogen distribution.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 16th that it held a 'City Gas Pipeline Hydrogen Mixing Symposium' in the conference room of the Korea Gas Safety Corporation and conducted a hydrogen mixing project launch meeting with industry, academia, and research institutes.

At this meeting, organizations including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy discussed safety verification measures and promised mutual cooperation, aiming to mix up to 20% hydrogen into city gas pipelines currently in use.

The plan is to supply hydrogen to each household using the city gas pipeline network connected across the country, and it is expected that mixing 20% hydrogen into city gas pipelines will reduce carbon emissions by 7.56 million tons per year.

Since safety must be ensured before supplying hydrogen mixed with existing city gas, a total of KRW 28 billion will be invested in technology development, including safety verification of the entire cycle (manufacturing-supply-use) of hydrogen mixing, including gas facilities (boilers, gas ranges, etc.) used by citizens at home, and safety standards will be established preemptively by 2026.

Lee Ok-heon, hydrogen economy policy officer who chaired the meeting, said, “The government recently announced ‘hydrogen “Through the ‘Safety Management Roadmap 2.0,’ we will proactively establish safety standards necessary for hydrogen co-generation and city gas hydrogen mixing to safely produce and utilize clean hydrogen, thereby accelerating greenhouse gas reduction and the hydrogen economy,” he said.