This file photo taken Nov. 29, 2021, shows Yoon Suk Yeol, then presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, looking at a small modular reactor (SMR) during a visit to the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will earmark 1.21 trillion won (US$982.3 million) this year for technology development in nuclear energy, hydrogen and other energy resources, the industry ministry said Thursday.
The budget marked a 0.8 percent on-year growth, as the country has sought to secure advanced technologies to ensure energy security and to achieve zero-emission goals.
Of them, 205.9 billion won will be earmarked for hydrogen and related technologies, and 196.9 billion won will be spent on technologies for renewable energy resources, including solar cells, wind power and bio fuel, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The government also plans to spend 173.6 billion won in the nuclear energy field, including the development of small modular reactors, it added.
“Some 9.6 percent of the budget will be set aside for new projects to develop fresh, state-of-the-art technologies,” a ministry official said, adding that the government will receive applications in March and April, and choose projects that will be entitled to state subsidies.
(Yonhap)
