ISSN: 0256-1115 (print version) ISSN: 1975-7220 (electronic version)
Copyright © 2025 KICHE. All rights reserved

Articles & Issues

Conflict of Interest
In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publication history
Received October 29, 2024
Revised January 23, 2025
Accepted February 8, 2025
Available online July 25, 2025
articles This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright © KIChE. All rights reserved.

All issues

Life Cycle-Based Strategy and Feasibility of Surplus-to-X-to-Electricity on Domestic Surplus Utilization in the Republic of Korea

School of Energy and Chemical Engineering , Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology 1Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality , Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology 2Carbon Neutrality Demonstration and Research Center , Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology
hklim@unist.ac.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, July 2025, 42(8), 000042
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00417-0

Abstract

Energy transition has played a core role in addressing environmental issues in recent generations. Continuous fossil fuel

consumption has caused a large amount of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, which is a primary reason for climate

change. Many countries argue that renewable energy can become a bridge to reach a low-carbon energy economy; however,

its ability varies depending on geographical features. Particularly, although the Republic of Korea aims for a low-carbon

energy economy by utilizing renewable electricity, it is geographically limited to installing large renewable energy farms;

thus, new strategies for low-carbon energy resources are essential to refl ect Korea’s regional characteristics. Jeju Island in

the Republic of Korea has a large capacity of wind farms, but their power generation is often stopped due to oversupply than

demand, resulting in frequent curtailment and substantial excessive energy. In line with this situation, a new idea on domestic

surplus utilization emerges to overcome both the energy losses on Jeju Island and clean energy needs in Korean land. This

research analyzes the strategy of surplus-to-X-to-electricity on domestic surplus utilization in the environmental and economic

aspects. Clean H 2 is produced via water electrolysis using surplus electricity on Jeju Island and then transported to

Korean land in the form of H 2 carriers. After being imported into land, they are consumed for power generation through a fuel

cell system. Throughout its overall phases, its economic and environmental feasibility is explored based on diverse scenarios

of H 2 carrier forms and transportation distances. As a result, given that governmental incentives regarding the environment

and clean energy are applied, an NH 3 -based strategy can become feasible in both economic and environmental criteria.

The Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers. F5,119, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
TEL. No. +82-2-458-3078FAX No. +82-507-804-0669E-mail : kiche@kiche.or.kr

Copyright (C) KICHE.all rights reserved.

- Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering 상단으로