A recent report from Business Korea has drawn attention to the announcement in South Korea of five locations that will act as testing grounds for the development and – more importantly – commercialization of carbon capture and utilization. The chosen locations are:
- Yeosu in South Jeolla Province
- Seosan in South Chungcheong Province
- Gangneung and Samcheok in Gangwon Province
- Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province
- Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province
The sites were picked after a one-month selection process during the summer with 27 projects presenting proposals. The selection has several cement projects, as well as steel and coal.
The selected sites comprise the area adjacent to the GS Caltex 2nd Plant in Yeosu, the Hanwha TotalEnergies business area in Seosan, various locations in Gangwon such as Halla Cement, Sampyo Cement, and East-West Power, the Pohang Steelworks site in Pohang, and the coal storage site managed by Korea Midland Power in Boryeong.
Vice Minister Lee Chang-yoon from the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) highlighted the need to tackle the economic hurdles associated with CCU technology, stating, “Despite the importance of CCU technology in achieving carbon neutrality, there has been a lack of commercialization models due to low economic feasibility. We hope to overcome these limitations and spread the technology to the private sector by creating successful cases through this project.”
The large-scale projects are expected to officially commence in 2026 after a preliminary feasibility study.
Carbon capture making strides in South Korea
Industry giants like Posco, KNOC and Hyundai have all been involved with carbon capture projects.
In March 2024 POSCO International (the trading arm of the conglomerate) disclosed its intention to diversify into CCUS and hydrogen-related activities, aiming to carve out a niche in sustainable energy solutions. Partnerships with ADNOC, Repsol and Petroleum Sarawak confirm the international plans of the company
The Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) has joined a government-led initiative aimed at exploring potential carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites in the waters surrounding the Korean peninsula, news platform Offshore Energy reported.
The project, titled “Securing Large-Scale Commercial CO2 Storage Sites in the Korean Peninsula through Comprehensive 2D∙3D Geophysical Exploration and Computational Reprocessing”, is spearheaded by the South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and exclusively managed by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning.
The initiative aims to assess the CO2 storage capacity in the East, West, and South Seas surrounding the Korean peninsula.
Shipbuilding major HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has announced a recently signed preliminary basic design agreement with Hyundai Engineering & Construction for a subsea underground carbon dioxide storage platform.
Through this collaborative project, the Donghae gas field, which ceased production at the end of 2021, is being revitalized as the country’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility.
The Donghae Gas Field Utilization CCS Project is a joint initiative led by the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and Hyundai E&C as part of South Korea’s broader decarbonization strategy.
The immediate target is to capture and store 1.2 million tons of CO2 emissions from domestic industrial complexes.
Read more: Hyundai To Build CO2 Storage Platform For South Korea’s Largest CCS Project
