STEPS OF INNOVATION FOR FUTURE FUEL: PART I

For innovation in future fuel strategies & policies, few countries had agreed to provide information on strategies and plans for their respective governmental and/or state directed clean energy research and development investment over five years. New investments are focused on transformational clean energy technology innovations that can be scaled to varying economic and energy market conditions that exist in the countries and in the broader world. We can have bureau of some countries innovation strategies and policies for future fuel.

The Government of Japan formulated the Strategic Energy Plan in order to show to the public the basic direction of Japan’s energy policy under the Basic Act on Energy Policy in July 2018. The new Strategic Energy Plan is the basis for the orientation of Japan’s new energy policy towards 2030 and further towards 2050. Considering the changes in energy environments inside and outside Japan. The new plan emphasizes the strengthening of such efforts to ensure continued, concrete results towards 2030. Towards 2050, the new plan seeks to achieve energy transitions and decarbonisation, in light of the global momentum in this direction and in enforcement of the Paris Agreement, and to pursue all tenable options toward this end. The Paris Agreement calls on countries to submit to the UN a long-term strategy in order to steadily reduce GHG emissions.

In 2019, Japan will invest 20.4 billion yen in R&D on clean hydrogen. Japan hosted the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting in October 2018. More than 20 countries got together and shared the view that hydrogen can be a key contributor to the energy transitions. We confirmed the value of collaborating on these agendas in the “Tokyo Statement”.

Japan considers the concept of “carbon recycling” as recognizing CO2 as a source of carbon, capturing and recycling it as carbon compounds in industries, then utilizing it as fuel or a raw material or even in the growing of vegetables. To promote technological innovations involving capture, storage and utilization of CO2, the “Carbon Recycling Promotion Office” was established in the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

In order to reduce greenhouse emissions, Innovation Challenges (IC) platform had created to accelerate research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in technology areas which also create new opportunities for clean economic growth. Japan joined the Innovation Challenges (IC)8 Deep Dive and Hydrogen Valleys workshops to provide the knowledge and information obtained from previous research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) projects. Furthermore, Japan held the First Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo in October 2018. Innovation Challenges (IC)8 was invited to the meeting to present their activities and future plans. Prof. Kodama from Niigata University collaborated with prof. Gus Nathan (The Univ. of Adelaide, Australia), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation’s and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to establish an international collaboration “Converting Sunlight to Fuels” as a part of Innovation Challenges(IC)5 activity.

The Republic of Korea will establish a 4GW renewable energy production complex on Saemangeum region, a vast tract of reclaimed land on the west coast. The central and provincial governments will build a 3GW solar power farm on land and a 1GW offshore wind farm near Gunsan. The power generation site represents 9.36 percent of the total reclaimed area.

The government and Jeollabuk-do will establish 2.4GW of photovoltaic power and 0.6GW of offshore wind power (0.1GW of inside and 0.5GW of outside of Saemangeum) by 2022 and also decided to accelerate construction related to power transmission and substation and regulatory work so the rest of the power generation business will be in accordance with local acceptability and progress on the internal development of Saemangeum.

The dissemination and expansion of renewable energy are recognized as an important policy tool, focusing on eco-friendly energy policies. In line with this global trend, Korea is also planning to reorganize its energy policies and projects into clean energy and expand the role of renewable energy nationwide. Renewable energy projects in Saemangeum are being carried out as part of this project.

The Saemangeum Development Administration, Jeollabuk-do, Gunsan City, Saemangeum Corporation, and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning have signed multiple business agreements for the establishment of the Saemangeum Renewable Energy National Demonstration Research Complex in March 2019. The project plans to involve 100 companies and create 0.1 million jobs over the next 10 years.

The Republic of Korea government proposes a future national energy vision that is a hydrogen economy roadmap in January 2019. Along with the roadmap the government hopes to create new jobs through the transformation of the economic industry structure. Korea aims to build an industrial ecosystem that can lead the hydrogen economy based on hydrogen vehicles and fuel cells. The Roadmap includes several targets such as the number of hydrogen vehicles and hydrogen charging stations by the year 2040. According to the roadmap, 1,800 hydrogen vehicles have already been produced and the target numbers of hydrogen vehicles is 0.8M units in 2022 and 6.2M units in 2040. For the hydrogen bus, the target is 35 units in 2019, 2,000 units in 2022, and 40,000 units in 2040. The hydrogen taxi pilot project will launch in 2019 and will involve 80,000 taxis in 2040. 14 hydrogen charging stations are already built nationwide. The roadmap plans 310 charging stations in 2022 and 1,200 charging stations in 2040. The capacity of the fuel cells for power generation would reach 15GW including 2.1 GW for houses and buildings. In 2019 the Korean government formed a general committee and five working groups (policy, infrastructure, clean energy, smart energy, and safe energy) for the 4th energy technology development plan (2019 – 2028).

The Republic of Korea has been working in Innovation Challenges (IC)1,2,3,6,7, and 8. The government has designed a new joint research program for the Innovation Challenges which was approved for launch in December 2018. The funding budget for this program is 3 billion Korean Won (approximately 2.7 million USD) per Innovation Challenges(IC) for 3 years i.e. a total of 21.6 million USD. For this program all sectors related to the Innovation Challenges are eligible. Korean researchers cooperate with the experts from Innovation Challenges members. This is eligible for funding as long as their consortium is formed with Korean participants. Researchers from Canada, the US, India, and Germany are working together with Korean experts. The program supports a total of eight projects in the area of the innovation challenge with a various activities such as joint workshop, manpower dispatch, recruitment, joint thesis announcement, research sample exchange, and visits to demonstration plants are underway.