Korean-German Energy Partnership Takes Up Work

In December 2019, Germany and Korea signed a joint declaration of intent for the establishment of an energy partnership, whereby the pre-existent cooperation was strengthened and institutionalised.

On 12 May 2020, Thorsten Herdan, Director General for Energy Policy at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), and Young-joon Joo, Deputy Minister for Energy and Resources at the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), signed a roadmap describing the future bilateral cooperation between Korea and Germany within the framework of the Korean-German Energy Partnership. 

The roadmap stipulates the establishment of three working groups: The working group on “Energy Transition” covers the topics of renewable energy (expansion, system integration and social acceptance) and energy efficiency; the working group on “New Green Energy Technologies” deals with technologies such as green hydrogen, smart grids and energy storage systems, and the working group on “Nuclear Decommissioning” focuses on decommissioning methods, nuclear waste disposal, safety issues, legal aspects and costs. The roadmap also foresees the continuation of the Korean-German Energy Day as an important annual bilateral energy policy event between BMWi and MOTIE. 

Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the high-level event took place in the form of a video conference.