S. Korea to mix hydrogen to town gas by 2026 to reduce emissions

South Korea is stepping up to mix hydrogen into town gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the supply of hydrogen.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Korea Gas Corp., Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, and others will establish a task force on Tuesday to carry out the project this year.

Injecting 10 volume percent of hydrogen could reduce South Korea’s annual use of 40 million tons of natural gas every year by 1.29 million tons, cutting down on 3.55 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.

.The task force, which will aim for a 20 percent mixture of hydrogen into city gas by 2026, will start a 28 billion won worth of R&D project that will commence next year to verify the safety of town gas lines and their compatibility with hydrogen until 2025.

The first phase will involve setting up infrastructure at the KOGAS Pyeongtaek LNG Terminal, with construction starting in the second quarter of this year.

In the second phase, the task force will then test hydrogen in the gas lines.

Amending the Urban Gas Business Act in 2026 to institutionalize hydrogen mix into city gas will then be the final phase.