據美國油價網首爾報道，韓國計劃轉向氫。 我們應該關心嗎? 目前有5200萬人口的韓國是世界上第十大經濟體，擁有世界第五大鋼鐵行業，韓國是全球一個主要的電子產品生產國,汽車產量世界排名第五和電池產量世界排名第二，國內大型國際公司擁有世界級的技術能力。 這個國家幾乎沒有什么自然資源，韓國有煤炭儲備，但其99%的煤炭消費來自進口，僅此而已。  

2021年11月，韓國批準了2050年的氫目標，其中包括中期目標。 基本上，韓國希望用可再生能源取代煤炭消費(政府控制著電力公司)，用氫取代石油進口，并鼓勵大型工業能源用戶轉向氫。韓國擁有龐大的鋼鐵工業，這是轉型的主要目標。 新聞報道稱，也由政府控制的韓國天然氣公司將在本國西南部建造一個氫氣生產設施。韓國政府也希望鼓勵碳儲存。 

現在說說策略。 毫無疑問，韓國不是生產綠色氫氣的理想國家。韓國政府計劃到2050年讓韓國生產不到所需20%的氫氣。 韓國將在海外投資生產氫氣的項目，這意味著韓國將為國內企業和其他想要生產并銷售給韓國的企業打開新的商機。韓國政府表示，它希望在此過程中創建30家全球性的氫公司。我們猜想，屆時有許多氫公司將用今天的韓國大公司的名字。 

如果成功，韓國氫戰略將體現出制定明確的政策，并在此過程中創造商機的價值。 韓國氫戰略還表明了一種信念的回歸，即世界貿易和競爭市場是好的，但不要依靠它們來找到解決全球氣候變化或能源安全的辦法。韓國人仍將從國外獲得大部分能源，但最有可能的是從韓國控制的氫生產商那里獲得能源，而不是外國政府或私人控制的石油、天然氣和煤炭。 選擇生產氫的傳統國內能源公司可能會發現自己被市場拒之門外。 如果其他國家效仿，能源市場可能會變得越來越分裂。

傳統的經濟發展戰略是留出一個國內市場，讓當地公司在該市場發展技能和規模，并希望這些公司達到一定技能和規模的水平，以便在國外進行競爭。 也許我們能夠從韓國人那里學到一些東西。  

李峻 編譯自 美國油價網

原文如下：

What We Can Learn From South Korea’s Hydrogen Strategy

South Korea plans a pivot to hydrogen. Should we care? Well, South Korea, with a population of 52 million, is the tenth largest economy in the world, has the fifth largest steel industry in the world, is a major producer of electronics, automobiles (# 5 in world) and batteries (#2), and the home to huge international corporations with world class technological abilities. The country has little in the way of natural resources (it has coal reserves but imports 99% of its coal consumption, and that’s it. 

In November 2021, the cabinet approved a hydrogen target for 2050, with intermediate goals. Basically, the government wants to replace coal consumption with renewables (the government controls the electric company) and replace oil imports with hydrogen and encourage big industrial users of energy to turn to hydrogen. (Korea has a big steel industry, a main target for conversion.) News stories say that the gas company (also controlled by the government) will build a hydrogen production facility in the southwest of the country. The government also wants to encourage carbon storage. We assume that in a country with a tightly knit industrial base controlled by a few families, that the government has consulted with it and has bought in. 

Now for the strategy. You will no doubt argue that Korea is not an ideal spot for green hydrogen production. Well the government plans for Korea to produce less than 20% of the hydrogen it will need in 2050. It will invest in overseas projects that will produce hydrogen, and that really means that it will open up a new business opportunity for Korean companies and others that want to produce for sale to Korea. The government says it wants to create 30 global hydrogen companies in the process. We suspect that many will sport the names of today’s major Korean companies. 

The Korean strategy, if it works, will demonstrate the value of setting a clear policy, and creating business opportunities in the process. It also demonstrates a return to the belief that world trade and competitive markets are okay, but do not depend on them to find solutions to global climate change or energy security. (Okay, the Koreans would still get most of their energy from abroad, but most likely from Korean-controlled manufacturers of hydrogen, not from foreign-state or privately-controlled oil and gas and coal. ) Traditional internal energy companies that choose to go into hydrogen production might find themselves shut out of the market. If other countries follow suit, the energy market could become more and more balkanized.

The traditional economic development strategy was to set aside a domestic market, let local companies develop skills and scale in that market, and hope that those companies reach a level of skill and scale to compete abroad. Maybe we could learn something from the Koreans