The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE, Minister Kim Sungwhan) announced that it will issue a notice of proposed amendment to the Notification on the Calculation of Annual Purchase Volumes for the Hydrogen Power Generation Bidding Market ( “Notification”) for public comment from June 10 to 30.

This Notification sets forth the details of the hydrogen power generation bidding market under Article 25-6 of the Hydrogen Economy Promotion and Hydrogen Safety Management Act, and the main purpose of this proposed amendment is to establish the bidding volumes for the hydrogen power generation bidding market for this year (2026).

The hydrogen power generation bidding market is a system under which electricity generated using hydrogen or hydrogen compounds as fuel is purchased and supplied. Depending on the type of fuel used, it is divided into the clean hydrogen power generation bidding market and the general hydrogen power generation bidding market. Only power generation facilities using fuels that meet Korea’s clean hydrogen certification standards (greenhouse gas emissions of no more than 4 kgCO2e per kilogram of hydrogen produced) are eligible to participate in the clean hydrogen power generation bidding market.

Under this proposed amendment, the bidding volumes for the 2026 hydrogen power generation bidding market are set at 500 GWh/year for clean hydrogen power generation and 930 GWh/year for general hydrogen power generation. The bidding volumes for 2027 and beyond are expected to be established through an additional amendment to the Notification next year, taking into account factors such as the currently pending 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand.

In line with the government’s policy to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2040, coal-ammonia co-firing power generation will be excluded from eligibility for support under the clean hydrogen power generation bidding market starting this year. In addition, the evaluation framework for the clean hydrogen power generation bidding market will be revised to enable the market to help drive the development of a domestic clean hydrogen production ecosystem, including water electrolysis. 

For the general hydrogen power generation bidding market, the environmental evaluation criteria will be strengthened to promote greenhouse gas reductions. Detailed matters for this year’s bidding market, including eligible facilities for support and evaluation criteria, will be further specified following the amendment to the Notification through consultations with experts and industry stakeholders. 

Following this public notice period, the MCEE plans to finalize the proposed amendment to the Notification after gathering input from industry stakeholders and relevant organizations, and to open the hydrogen power generation bidding market in the second half of this year.

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com