Russia’s Policy Transition to a Hydrogen Economy and the Implications of South Korea–Russia Cooperation

Leading countries are developing clean energy to replace fossil fuels. In this context, Russia is changing its energy policy towards fostering new energy resources, such as hydrogen and helium. Hydrogen will not only contribute to Russia’s financial revenue by replacing natural gas, but will also provide a basis for it to maintain its dominance over the international energy market by pioneering new energy markets. Russia is aiming to produce more than two million tons of hydrogen fuel for export to Europe and Asia by 2035. However, it is facing many challenges, including developing hydrogen fuel storage systems, acquiring the technology required for exporting hydrogen, and building trust in the fuel market. Meanwhile, South Korea has a foundation for developing a hydrogen industry, as it has the highest capacity in the world to produce fuel cells and the ability to manufacture LNG: (liquefied natural gas) carriers. Therefore, South Korea and Russia have sufficient potential to create a new complementary and reciprocal cooperation model in the hydrogen fuel field. This study examines the present and future of Russia’s energy policy in this area as well as discusses South Korea and Russia’s cooperation plans in the hydrogen fuel sector and the related implications.