Climate Minister Kim Sung-hwan holds bilateral talks with EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen

Kim Sung-hwan, minister of climate, environment and energy, delivers opening remarks at the Korea-EU Energy Transition Cooperation Forum in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday. [Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy]
Kim Sung-hwan, minister of climate, environment and energy, delivers opening remarks at the Korea-EU Energy Transition Cooperation Forum in Brussels, Belgium, on Wednesday. [Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy]

South Korea and the EU have agreed to establish a deputy minister-level dialogue channel on energy cooperation, through which the two sides plan to coordinate on renewable energy, energy storage systems, and the electrification of buildings and transportation.

The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy said Climate Minister Kim Sung-hwan met EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen in Brussels on Wednesday, on the sidelines of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit, to discuss ways to cooperate on overcoming the energy security crisis stemming from the war in the Middle East and to advance energy transition and electrification.

Both sides agreed that the only way to weather the economic and energy security threats posed by the prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is to shift energy consumption away from fossil fuels toward electricity and raise the share of renewable energy.

They also agreed to institutionalize the dialogue by establishing a new deputy minister-level energy channel and setting up a direct hotline between senior officials for close communication.

The ministry also hosted the Korea-EU Energy Transition Cooperation Forum in Brussels on Wednesday. The forum was organized to promote Korean power equipment in the European market and secure new business opportunities.

South Korean participants included Korea Electric Power Corp., the Korea Power Exchange, HD Hyundai Electric, Hyosung Heavy Industries, Taihan Electric Wire, LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, SK On, Hanwha Solutions and SixtyHertz.

European participants included Germany's largest power company RWE, Italy's largest utility Enel, Dutch-German transmission system operator TenneT, Belgian state-owned grid operator Elia, Siemens Energy of Germany, Hitachi Energy, Irish renewable energy developer Lumcloon, and ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.

On the sidelines of the forum, Taihan Electric Wire signed a memorandum of understanding with Belgian subsea cable installer Jan De Nul and Dutch marine contractor Boskalis to cooperate in the high-voltage direct current transmission sector.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com