The Global Business Innovation Programme

This month, Seetru’s Edward Flint had the opportunity to travel to South Korea through Innovate UK’s Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP). During his week there he had the privilege of engaging with industry leaders, experts, and potential collaborators, as well as visiting a range of advanced hydrogen facilities alongside twelve UK companies to delve into South Korea's ambitious Hydrogen Economy Roadmap.


Why South Korea?
With aims to dominate the global hydrogen market by 2040, South Korea has set impressive goals, including producing 6.2 million fuel cell electric vehicles, deploying 41 thousand hydrogen buses, establishing 1200 refueling stations, and supplying 15GW of fuel cells for power generation.

As of February 2023, South Korea had made significant strides, introducing 30,000 hydrogen vehicles, 231 hydrogen charging stations, and 893.97 MW of fuel cells. However, challenges remain in meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets.


Engagements and Collaborations
Seetru alongside representatives from twelve UK companies participated in this trade mission. The diverse range of companies offers products ranging from safety valves and pressure vessels to innovative solutions like bacteria converting CO2 to H2!


Exploring South Korea's Hydrogen Landscape
The itinerary was packed with insightful visits, starting with the British Embassy in Seoul where everyone was given a presentation by KETEP (Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning) about South Korea’s 2019 Hydrogen Economy Roadmap. The trip also included a visit to Samsung Heavy Industries, participation at the Korea Eureka Day, and a day at Ulsan Technopark. These visits included presentations, B2B meetings, and exposure to cutting-edge developments in hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysis.

Further insights into South Korea's commitment to hydrogen, included a visit to POSCO Energy demonstrating their initiatives in Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOEC), as well as visiting Pohang Technopark where they showed their ambitious mission to create a hydrogen city.
Ed also had the opportunity to visit KATECH's (Korea Automotive Technology Institute) efueling research centre. We saw their newly delivered Hyundai hydrogen bus and witnessed their advanced refuelling operations.


Conclusions
Ed commented, "South Korea is a beautiful country, with friendly people and fantastic food!" It is clear that South Korea is very focused on developing the hydrogen industry and wants to be world leaders in this field, highlighting the opportunities in South Korea for valves in the hydrogen industry.
Thank you to Innovate UK and everyone involved in making this experience valuable, informative, and very well organised!