The 3rd Hydrogen Market Insight (H2MI), a global hydrogen conference, will be held at EXCO in Daegu in April. This conference, held under the theme of ‘Starting the hydrogen-industrialization engine’, provides professional research results and information, including global green hydrogen policy and market trends, △green hydrogen commercialization strategy, △current status of P4G demonstration in Korea, △hydrogen city construction and future strategies. are revealed
At this H2MI, speakers from around the world, including Canada, the United States, Germany, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia, will participate. The faces of domestic speakers are even more glamorous. Not only large companies such as SK E&S and POSCO Holdings, but also renowned experts such as Korea Gas Safety Corporation, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Korea East-West Power, and Korea Electric Power Corporation will participate to make the conference shine.
We met Park Jin-ho, vice president of research at Korea University of Energy and Technology (KENTECH), who is the head of the H2MI organizing committee, which has established itself as the representative hydrogen conference in Korea both in name and reality. .
Vice President Park Jin-ho served as the vice president of the Korea Chemical Engineering Society, the 4th president of the Korea Solar Power Society, and the 25th president of the Korea Energy Society. Currently, he is the representative of Korea for Task 1 of the Solar Power Division of the International Energy Agency, a member of the 6th National Energy Commission, a regular member of the National Academy of Engineering of Korea, and a director of KENTECH Research Institute.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, Director of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: Please introduce the International Future Energy Conference and International Green Energy Expo.
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: The correct name of the International Future Energy Conference is the International Green Energy Expo&Conference. The International Green Energy Expo & Conference, which started in 2004, celebrates its 20th this year.
Similar fairs and conferences are held across the country, but among conferences related to renewable energy technology, it can be seen as the largest in Korea. It is the third largest event in Asia and the tenth largest in the world. It is a conference and expo covering solar power, wind power, ESS, fuel cell, and hydrogen. This year, the scale has grown to about 800 booths.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, head of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: I am in charge of the Hydrogen Market Insight Organizing Committee. What is the theme for this year and how did you come up with it?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: This year’s theme is ‘Starting the Hydrogen-Industrialization Engine’. The selection was made after discussion by the organizing committee. Last year, it was held under the theme of ‘Hydrogen – the future becomes the present.’ Even 10 years ago, there was a strong perception that hydrogen energy was a story of the very distant future and that industrialization was far away.
However, renewable energy has expanded and the issue of carbon neutrality has spread. In the long run, the development of the hydrogen industry has been accelerated. The international community is moving, and large corporations around the world are preparing specific business strategies and jumping into actual business. Although it is not industrialized, it is now in the starting stage, so this year’s theme was ‘Starting the Hydrogen-Industrialization Engine’.
Q. Hyeong-dong Hyeong-dong, Gwangju-Jeonnam Headquarters Head: What is the scale of participation?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho : We are accepting online and offline pre-registration. It is a hybrid conference held both online and offline. More than 4,500 visitors are expected.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, Director of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: The faces of the speakers participating in H2MI are splendid. Please introduce yourself.
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho : The 3rd H2MI consists of 4 sessions. Plenary sessions such as ‘Global Green Hydrogen Policy and Market Trend’, ‘Green Hydrogen Commercialization Strategy’, ‘Domestic P2G Demonstration Status’, and ‘Hydrogen City Construction and Future Strategy’ will be held. In the global green hydrogen policy and market trend session, a large number of world experts participate.
Ali Izadi of BloombergNEF, one of the best consulting and market research companies in the energy and hydrogen field, will participate. A presentation will be made on global hydrogen industry trends. Paul Saunders, President of the Energy Innovation Reform Project (EIRP), the most active of American energy think tanks, will visit the Daegu site in person.
We plan to tell a story about ‘America’s hydrogen industry.’ Next, you can hear about the status of business progress in countries such as Germany and Saudi Arabia. Many major domestic companies are also participating. These are major companies such as SK E&S and POSCO. They are expected to announce their commercialization strategy. I think it consists of interesting content.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, Director of Gwangju Jeonnam Headquarters: At the International Future Energy Conference, large companies that are well known and interested in the public, such as Hanwha Solutions, LS Electric, SK E&S, Hanwha Convergence, and Siemens Energy, participate. Is it something that the general public can come and hear?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: Of course. Companies are expected to present in terms of their business strategies. Doesn’t each company have different capabilities and areas of focus? Listening to and comparing business strategies is expected to be one of the fun of this conference.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, head of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: Please introduce other noteworthy sessions.
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: In addition to the global session, a lot of effort was put into the green hydrogen commercialization strategy session. He tried to attract good speakers. There is a reason why we made efforts to recruit global experts. Korea has a small area and the potential to produce green hydrogen is weaker than other countries.
Ultimately, in order for the hydrogen economy to become active, it must be imported from the global market, and to do so, it must be approached from an international perspective. In this H2MI global session, we invited experts who are well aware of international trends. You can think of the commercialization strategy session as being approached from that perspective as well.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, head of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: Various fields are interested in hydrogen. Can you get important information from the conference?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho : You can receive a lot of information at the conference. The domestic hydrogen market can be seen as in its infancy. How you draw your future strategy will determine your future. It’s a very important time, and these things will be covered at the conference.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, head of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: I am curious about the key issues in the global hydrogen market. Are global issues addressed at the conference?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: Global and domestic experts will tell you in detail about hydrogen. Looking at the global hydrogen market trend, so-called ‘grey hydrogen’ will not have a place in the long term because it generates carbon dioxide. As a result, the key is how economically clean hydrogen can be produced, such as green hydrogen, blue hydrogen, or pink hydrogen.
It is necessary to consider various aspects such as the issue of distributing this to the global distribution network, the level of necessary technology, and the system. Countries that can produce clean hydrogen and those that use it are regionally divided. Not only production, but also storage and transportation are becoming issues. I see areas such as management of the entire cycle from production of clean hydrogen to storage and supply as important issues.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, Gwangju Jeonnam Headquarters: What are some of the achievements you have gained through H2MI?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: In the case of Solar Market Insight, a conference held together with H2MI, no rounds are attached to the event name. However, H2MI inserted the episode into the event name from the first episode. It is because I was convinced that ‘the hydrogen conference will last for more than 1 years’ while leading the conference organizing committee.
There is no alternative to hydrogen to achieve carbon neutrality while maintaining a sustainable economy. Reflecting this, the number of participants and speakers is increasing every year. It can be seen as an achievement that it has expanded the interest of experts and the general public as it is being held for the third time. As a representative conference for the hydrogen industry, it is believed to have provided professional education on hydrogen to officials and the general public.
Q. Hyeong-dong Hyeong-dong, Gwangju-Jeonnam Division Head: I am chairing the PVMI 2023 ‘Global Solar Energy Market Trends and Forecast’ session.
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: I led Solar Market Insight as the organizing committee chairman. He is currently in charge of Professor Jeong Jae-hak of Yeungnam University. I am working as an advisor. PVMI is a solar energy conference that started in 2012. At the time, there were many academic events related to solar technology.
However, conferences related to the photovoltaic market and policies did not exist at the time. A conference differentiated by market and policy was needed. While thinking about it, I started by making the Green Energy Conference hosted by EXCO independent. I also attached the name PVMI, Solar Market Insight myself.
There is bound to be a lot of attachment. He has served several times as the chairman of the organizing committee, and this year he serves as an advisor and a moderator of the ‘Global Photovoltaic Market Trends and Prospects’ session. It’s already been over 10 years since he started the conference. If I knew it would last for a long time, I have a feeling that it would have been better if the episode was added to the name of the event. The contents are enriched and the number of participants is increasing day by day.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, head of Gwangju Jeonnam Headquarters: The Russia-Ukraine war is prolonging. There are large fluctuations in the industry, such as a sharp rise in energy prices. What role should the government play?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: The government has a lot to do. I would like to point out ‘energy security’ as the first and last keywords that the government should manage well. If we fail to respond well to energy supply and demand, the economy will collapse and people’s lives will collapse.
That is why energy security is important, and the government must take responsibility for it. Energy prices are too cheap in Korea. That’s why there is a side that writes carelessly. The government should take the lead in helping the public reduce energy consumption and optimize its use.
To achieve this, the government must create related systems and a market must be formed. In terms of the global energy transition, we need to expand eco-friendly energy and achieve carbon neutrality, but there are many areas that are difficult for companies to implement. I think this is an area that the government should support.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, head of Gwangju and Jeonnam Headquarters: Seok-Yeol Yoon, is there anything you would like to suggest regarding the government’s energy policy establishment?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: The Ministry of Industry has banners such as ‘I will improve energy efficiency’, ‘I will reduce consumption’, and ‘I will expand and grow together by coexisting with nuclear power and new and renewable energy’. I think it has a good direction in a big direction. A detailed policy must be supported. Policies should be established in consideration of the endemic energy price system and market system that Korea has.
There is no clear policy yet. It is hoped that good policies will be established in the future. For carbon neutrality, electrification must eventually accelerate. It must be produced with clean electricity that does not generate carbon dioxide. Systems and infrastructure for this need to be preempted.
In addition, there is a possibility that the energy manufacturing industry can ‘de-Korea’. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to think about how to induce and how to break through the limiting technology. Since these are all new fields, I would like you to focus on how to nurture key talent in the field.
Q. Yoo Hyeong-dong, Gwangju Jeonnam Headquarters: What kind of efforts will you make for carbon neutrality?
A. Vice President Park Jin-ho: For the past 30 years, we have been striving to nurture technology development personnel and support government policy establishment in the energy field. He also worked with the International Energy Agency for 30 years. He continues these activities as long as his health permits. In particular, solar and hydrogen energy fields are my areas of expertise.
I will play a role as an expert so that good policies can be made in the solar and hydrogen fields. Looking at the renewable energy, future energy industry, some sectors are lagging behind in competition with China. I want to contribute to the technology field that can create a super gap in competition with China.
Korea University of Energy Engineering is the world’s first university specialized in energy research. He is currently serving as the Vice President of Research. I hope that Korea University of Energy Engineering will become a cradle for creating global elite leaders in the energy field. Through this, the best industry-academia-related experts will be produced. I would like to make a small contribution to creating a new paradigm for nurturing high-quality human resources.
Meanwhile, the ‘3rd Hydrogen Market Insight (H2MI)’, a global hydrogen conference, will be held at Room 4 of Daegu EXCO (CEO Lee Sang-gil) from April 13 (Thu) to 14 (Fri). It will be held concurrently with events such as the 325th International Green Energy Expo, 20 Photovoltaic Market Insights (PVMI), 2023 Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Forum, and AgriVoltaics 2023.
This year’s H2MI event will be held as an online-offline hybrid conference, and you can register at a 4% discount compared to on-site registration until April 6th, the pre-registration period. Special discount prices are applied to companies participating in the 20th International Green Energy Expo. For related matters, you can contact the secretariat.