Korea: the hydrogen economy act has been in force since 5 February 2021

South Korea adopted, as one of the first countries in the world, an act devoted directly to hydrogen: the Hydrogen Economy Promotion and Hydrogen Safety Management Act entered into force on 5 February 2021. The law firm Yoon & Yang described it in an article for Chambers as the world's first "hydrogen law". The Act has two pillars — supporting the hydrogen market and safety rules for installations and stations.

What the Act regulates

According to CSIRO HyResource, the Act, passed by the National Assembly in early 2020, is the overarching legal framework of hydrogen policy and established a Hydrogen Economy Committee chaired by the prime minister, which oversees promotion of the sector, distribution and safety. Chambers points to three most important new institutions:

• Hydrogen specialised enterprises (Article 11). The status is granted to firms in which the share of hydrogen-related sales or R&D spending in total sales exceeds set thresholds (for example, for sales above 100 billion won: 10% of sales or 3% of R&D spending). It gives access to government support and to the Hydrogen Convergence Alliance, including R&D grants, loans and tax relief.
• An obligation to install stations and fuel cells (Articles 19 and 21). The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) may require the construction of hydrogen refuelling stations from operators of, among others, industrial complexes, motorway facilities and LPG stations, and of fuel cells — also from local government companies, hospitals and schools. The requirement must be met unless there are special circumstances, but failure to do so carries no penalties.
• Reporting hydrogen prices at stations (Article 50). Entities selling hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles must report the sale price to MOTIE.

Safety

Before the Act entered into force, equipment and products using hydrogen (electrolysers, extractors, fuel cells, low-pressure tanks) outside the scope of the high-pressure gas safety act (up to 10 atmospheres) were not subject to any special restrictions. Since 2021 they have been supervised by the Korea Gas Safety Corporation, and companies must check whether a given product has the required permit or registration.

For the renewable gases industry

The Act does not directly concern biogas or biomethane. Hydrogen produced from biogas would, however, be subject to the same safety rules, and certification assesses emissions across the entire life cycle, from feedstock to hydrogen production.