©European Commission
The EU is keen to expand its clean energy production cooperation with Korea.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, “This is not only a climate imperative, it is a strategic one. We see strong potential in the areas of hydrogen and offshore wind, and there is great potential to develop business partnerships in the nuclear energy space, including small modular reactors.”
She said the move will help strengthen its energy security at a critical time with the Middle East crisis, and enhance competitiveness over the long term.
Semiconductors will be another focus area. “Building on these strengths, we will deepen our cooperation across research and innovation and across the AI stack,” she added.
“Last year Korea joined Horizon Europe … so today we discussed how to continue this cooperation in the next programming period that starts in 2028.”
South Korea for hydrogen-derived power, with 500GWh classed as “clean” and 930GWh as “general”, as part of its goal to phase out coal-fired power by 2040.
Bidders for the clean power contracts, to be awarded in the second half of 2026, must meet an emissions threshold of no more than 4kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per 1kg of hydrogen produced.
Clean energy has been firmly in the spotlight at this week’s European Sustainable Energy Week.
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