STATUS OF SOLID STATE HYDROGEN STORAGE TECHNOLOGY FOR FUEL CELLS IN KOREA

There are four R&D programs on hydrogen and fuel cell in Korea. Two of them are supported by MEST (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology) and others are funded by MKE (Ministry of Knowledge Economy). The hydrogen production technologies examined in Korea cover 3 main bases, fossil fuel, renewable energy including photo-catalytic, bio-hydrogen technology, and high temperature gas-cooled reactor. In October 2003, Korean government launched Hydrogen Energy R&D Center (HERC) as a member of the 21st Century Frontier R&D programs supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST). The HERC has conducted research on the key technologies for the production, storage, and utilization of hydrogen energy for expediting realization of hydrogen economy based on renewable energy sources. The main purposes of this paper are to overview the current status of research programs for hydrogen storage technologies conducted by Hydrogen Energy R&D Center based on the patent applications as well as research topics and to introduce specific achievements in each research program.