South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has announced the opening of its 2026 hydrogen power generation bidding market. The bidding volume for the clean hydrogen segment has been set at 500 GWh per year, with a contract period of 15 years. Projects will be required to begin power generation by 2030, following a three-year preparation period.
The government has revised the selection process for the clean hydrogen segment by introducing a first-stage assessment based entirely on non-price criteria. Under the revised process, projects shortlisted in the first stage will be evaluated on both price and non-price criteria, with the weight of non-price factors increased from 40 per cent to 50 per cent.
Furthermore, these factors include clean hydrogen utilisation, fuel supply security, greenhouse gas emission reductions and contributions to industry and the economy, are hence, expected to play a greater role in the selection process. Coal-ammonia co-firing projects will also be excluded from the bidding market from this year. The selected bidders are expected to be announced around June 2027. A grace period of up to three years will be allowed for project delays before penalties are imposed.