Government Targets 40% EVs and Hydrogen Cars by 2030

The government plan expands renewable energies to over 100 GW and lifts clean power share above 20%

The Korean government will expand renewable energy capacity to over 100 GW by 2030. (Photo: BusinessKorea DB)

The government will expand renewable energy capacity to over 100 GW by 2030. It will also promote policies to ensure that electric and hydrogen vehicles account for over 40% of new car sales.

On April 6, the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment reported the ‘Plan to Promote the Energy Grand Transition of the People’s Sovereign Government,’ which includes these measures, at a State Council meeting.

The decision to expand domestically produced energy, such as renewables, was made as existing energy security strategies, including the diversification of crude oil imports, are no longer effective due to the recent situation in the Middle East. Furthermore, electricity demand is surging due to the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers, physical AI, and expanded investment in advanced strategic industries.

First, the Ministry of Climate plans to increase renewable energy capacity to over 100 GW by 2030 and raise the share of renewable energy in power generation to over 20%. As the ‘intermittency’ of renewables, where power supply is not constant, is a drawback, it will also increase flexibility resources such as Energy Storage Systems (ESS) and pumped-storage hydroelectricity dams, which can store and supply power when needed.

To support the expansion of renewables and foster the industry, the government will support the development and demonstration of core technologies such as solar cells and modules, wind turbines, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), electric cables, transformers, and water electrolysis facilities. Meanwhile, it will support energy sector startups and also create a ‘Special City for Regional Energy’.

Electricity rates and the power market will also be reformed. The current Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) system (a system that obligates power producers of a certain scale or larger to supply a certain percentage of their generation with renewable energy) will be converted to a ‘long-term fixed-price contract market system’ to induce a decrease in the unit cost of renewable energy generation. The government will encourage the participation of 10 million citizens in projects where residents invest in renewable energy generation projects and the construction of high-voltage transmission networks and share the profits.

A concrete roadmap will be prepared to phase out 60 coal-fired power plants sequentially by 2040. For the 21 plants that will still have remaining design life after 2040, the government will explore ways to utilize them as an ‘energy security power source’.

Through subsidies, electric and hydrogen vehicles will be supported to account for over 40% of new cars by 2030. The plan is to accelerate the early conversion of police cars, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) taxis, rental cars, and corporate vehicles to electric vehicles, and to speed up the electrification of construction machinery, agricultural machinery, ships, and two-wheeled vehicles.

A plan is also being pursued to complete a 300,000-ton ‘hydrogen reduction steelmaking facility’ by 2028, which removes oxygen from iron ore using hydrogen instead of coal to produce steel, with commercialization slated for 2038. In the petrochemical sector, the conversion to electric naphtha cracking facilities and process efficiency improvements will be promoted.

Jung Suk-yee