Acting Secretary of Energy Daniel B. Poneman and Mr. Yoon Sang-jick, Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea, met on May 7, 2013, at the Department of Energy (DOE) headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they exchanged views on cooperation on a wide range of energy priorities.

They noted the importance of clean energy technologies for energy security, economic competitiveness and sustainable growth while mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.  Acting Secretary Poneman and Minister Yoon expressed their satisfaction with current cooperation under the Implementing Arrangement Between the Department of Energy of the United States of America and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of the Republic of Korea for Cooperation in the Area of Clean Energy Research and Technology, signed October 11, 2011.  They noted the decision by DOE and MOTIE in December 2012 to launch joint projects in smart grid and fuel cell vehicle technologies, and looked forward to exploring additional mutually beneficial collaborations in technology areas such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart grid, energy storage, green transportation, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage.

Acting Secretary Poneman and Minister Yoon welcomed the extension of the Statement of Intent Between the Department of Energy of the United States of America and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of the Republic of Korea for Exchange of Information on Gas Hydrate Research and Development, signed April 18, 2008.

Noting the important role that shale gas can play in promoting energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Acting Secretary Poneman and Minister Yoon shared the view that DOE and MOTIE should consider ways to share information on topics of mutual interest related to shale gas.  To that end, DOE in conjunction with the Department of Commerce and MOTIE are to explore opportunities for bringing together government and private sector experts to share their knowledge and experience.

Acting Secretary Poneman and Minister Yoon noted the successful proceedings of the Fourth Clean Energy Ministerial, held in India on April 17-18, 2013, and welcomed Korea’s leadership in hosting CEM5 in 2014.  Noting the important role of the Clean Energy Ministerial, Minister Yoon committed to making CEM5 a great success, and both stated that they looked forward to collaborating with other major economies on substantive work through the CEM in the year ahead.