- It’s one of a couple of hundred hydrogen fuel stations dotted throughout South Korea and a signal of where one of Australia’s largest trading partners is turning its energy focus.
- South Korea’s 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050 target has businesses in the industrialised nation, known for its large manufacturing sector, looking for alternative energy.
There are the typical petrol and diesel pumps and a very high-tech-looking set of bowsers for electric vehicles (EVs) with plasma screens showing how much power is being pumped into each EV. But the small, lone pump off to the side stands out. Among the Korean writing, the “H2” written on it is clear to see. It’s one of a couple of hundred hydrogen fuel stations dotted throughout South Korea and a signal of where one of Australia’s largest trading partners is turning its energy focus.
South Korea’s 100 per cent renewable energy by 2050 target has businesses in the industrialised nation, known for its large manufacturing sector, looking for alternative energy. It imports 90 per cent of its power, and Australia is a critical partner in that energy transfer. In 2021-22, South Korea spent more than $22 billion importing Australian coal and gas.
Australia’s ambassador to South Korea, Catherine Raper, explains from the embassy in Seoul that “The Australia/Republic of Korea partnership has never been more important; we are both natural partners and necessary partners and peers. Economically, we have in 2022, in preliminary figures, we have seen Korea rise to the status of Australia’s third largest goods trading partner, and we’re number five for Korea. So it’s a deep, substantial, and highly complementary economic relationship, underpinned by a successful free trade agreement that has seen trade double over that FTA.”
It’s a relationship primarily based around fossil fuels, and as each nation works towards its climate targets, business leaders in South Korea want the partnership to strengthen.