From October 19 to 22, the 2020 UNDP Hydrogen Industry Conference was held in Foshan, Guangdong Province, China. The conference was jointly organized by UNDP China, China Automotive Technology Research Center Limited and China Economic Consulting Company Limited. With the theme of "Developing green hydrogen energy and boosting the world economy", the conference held a number of theme forums, conducted in-depth discussions on fuel cell technology, hydrogen energy technology and application, and hydrogen safety, and built an in-depth exchange platform for hydrogen energy and fuel cell industries at home and abroad.



Han Seung-soo, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea and co-Chair of the International Finance Forum (China), was invited to attend the conference via video and deliver a keynote speech on "Developing Hydrogen Economy and Boosting Green Growth".

Han Seung-soo said he has always been a strong advocate for the world to address the challenge of climate change by addressing global warming, and can be said to be the "world's number one supporter" of this idea. The challenge now, he argues, is how to reduce carbon emissions so that the average global temperature rise is limited to the desired level. That is why we are working hard to secure clean energy for sustainable development. The hydrogen economy seems to provide the answer.



Han Seung-soo believes that the hydrogen economy can open up a development path to the green economy for our future generations. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hydrogen economy can help countries achieve economic recovery in a green way. It is hoped that in the near future, hydrogen energy can become an important global energy commodity. However, this puts higher demands on the cost and performance of hydrogen energy in all aspects, including production, storage, conversion, transportation and end-use technologies. Only by combining R&D with commercial deployment can the necessary technological improvements and cost reductions be achieved.

In addition, if hydrogen technology is to be commercialized, market policies will be necessary to harmonize different market segments. To achieve the ambitious goals of the Hydrogen Economy blueprint, we need to put the following tasks on the agenda:

1) Renewable energy standards will be introduced. With an appropriate regulatory framework, hydrogen energy can play a role in grid stability maintenance and storage.

2) Strengthen the hydrogen supply chain through innovative manufacturing methods and technologies;

3) Government leadership and close cooperation with industry will play an important role in the development of low hydrocarbon production, hydrogen distribution pipeline networks and the construction of large filling station networks.



Finally, Han said that South Korea, China and Japan are working hard to transform their current national energy systems into green ones. He sincerely hopes that the conference can greatly stimulate public interest in the key issue of hydrogen economy, which will greatly promote the reduction of carbon emissions, and thus contribute to the development of green economy in the future.