The government has prepared a roadmap to commercialize ultra-high efficiency solar “tandem cells,” which are the core of the next-generation solar industry, as the world’s first by 2028. It will also provide package support including fiscal, tax, financial, human resources, regulatory, and location support for next-generation power grid, offshore wind power, High Voltage Direct Current transmission (HVDC), green hydrogen, and Small Modular Reactor (SMR) sectors.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol held an “Economic Ministers’ Meeting and Growth Strategy Task Force (TF)” at the Government Complex Sejong on Nov, 26 and announced the third implementation plan for the 15 leading projects of the ultra-innovative economy with such content.
The government first allocated 33.6 billion won in next year’s budget for research and development (R&D) to secure tandem cell technology, which is an ultra-high efficiency solar cell. Tandem cells are solar cells that are 20 times thinner and lighter than existing silicon solar cells and have more than 1.5 times higher power generation efficiency. Hanwha Solutions’ Q CELLS division (Hanwha Q CELLS) is developing them on a trial basis, but they have not yet been commercialized anywhere in the world. The government has established a plan to preemptively secure ultra-high efficiency tandem cell and module technology to achieve 35% cell efficiency and 28% module efficiency by 2030.
A Korean-style next-generation distributed power grid will also be constructed. The next-generation distributed power grid is a future power system that optimizes power generation, storage, and consumption by deploying regionally distributed resources such as renewable energy, Energy Storage Systems (ESS), and electric vehicles in the right places at the right time through Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology.
The government will exempt related preliminary feasibility studies to build AI-based large-scale Energy Storage Systems (ESS) and invest 117.6 billion won in government funds next year for ESS installation. It will also designate two special zones among Uiwang in Gyeonggi Province, Busan, Jeju, and South Jeolla Province for realizing “distributed energy systems” and provide 10 billion won in support next year. A “distributed energy system” is a concept where electricity produced in a region is consumed within that region.
331 billion won will be invested next year for offshore wind turbine and core component development, and 27 billion won for HVDC technology development, respectively. HVDC is emerging as an essential technology for controlling the variability of renewable energy as it is advantageous for long-distance transmission and has low power loss.
31.8 billion won will be spent on green hydrogen development next year. Green hydrogen is clean energy obtained through electrolysis of water with no carbon dioxide emissions. Jeju Island will be designated as a 20-50MW (megawatt) green hydrogen domestic and international production demonstration project area with 997.8 billion won in support from 2028 to 2034. This is a project to demonstrate technology that produces green hydrogen by decomposing water with electricity generated from renewable energy and stores and utilizes it.
In the nuclear power sector, more than 100 billion won in fiscal resources will be invested next year for Small Modular Reactor (SMR) commercialization projects. Companies hoping to enter the SMR market will also be supported through a 100 billion won “Nuclear Power Industry Growth Fund.” SMRs are small reactors built in a way that they are manufactured in modular form at factories and assembled on-site. While theoretically safer than existing nuclear power plants, they have lower efficiency and cost more than renewable energy, so they have not yet been commercialized. The government has set a goal to commercialize SMR technology as the world’s first and enter the global market by 2030.
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