KEI Spotlight

In his latest column for the Diplomat Magazine, KEI Senior Director Troy Stangarone examines the Korean government's ambitious plan to transition to a hydrogen-based economy. This likely foreshadows increased production of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles by domestic manufacturer Hyundai and potentially others.

Troy identifies the absence of any support infrastructure at this time – pipelines to deliver the hydrogen and refueling stations for vehicles – as the biggest hurdle facing the adoption of hydrogen energy.

Once these initial investments are made, however, Korea could reap the economic benefits of exporting this technology and the environmental reward of lower carbon emissions. South Korea does face potential competitions from other other leading economies researching hydrogen fuel technology like the United States, Japan, and Germany. But Korea's in a good place to make a bid for top spot in the market.