Supporting Germany’s Energy Dialogue with Japan and Korea

Germany is highly dependent on energy raw material imports. At the same time, the country has set itself a triad of targets for greenhouse gas reductions, renewable energies and energy efficiency. Against this background, the international energy policy cooperation of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy (BMWi) aims to establish trust-based and long-term energy relations with partner countries worldwide. Energy policy cooperation is divided into non-formalised energy dialogues and institutionalised energy partnerships. Important partner countries for Germany in this context are Japan and the Republic of Korea (hereinafter referred to as Korea). Originally initiated as an energy dialogue, the energy dialogues with Japan and Korea have been institutionalized and transformed into energy partnerships during the project term.

adelphi supported the BMWi in implementing the energy partnerships with Japan and Korea. Overall, the project made a significant contribution to establishing and maintaining stable energy relations between the German government and the two partner countries. The project also addressed private sector concerns in order to support suitable market structures for the expansion of renewable energies and the promotion of energy-efficient technologies.

The energy partnership with Japan focuses in particular on the expansion and system integration of renewable energies and the production and use of hydrogen. These were supported by expert workshops, energy policy events and high-level delegation trips designed and organised by adelphi. The aim was to promote a regular exchange between governments, other institutions and stakeholders on key energy policy issues and common challenges. Background studies (e.g. on climate protection and energy efficiency in the transport sector, the role of hydrogen in the energy systems of Japan and Germany, and on smart grids and system integration) as well as ad-hoc analyses provided the energy policy exchange with scientific assessments.

The energy partnership with Korea focuses on the expansion and system integration of renewable energies, acceptance of the energy transition, energy efficiency, decommissioning of nuclear power plants and innovative technologies including smart solutions and hydrogen. In addition to the regular exchange between governments, the dialogue formats of study tours and expert workshops, which were designed and implemented by adelphi and project partners, were particularly popular in this partnership. The energy transition has become an important part of the external perception of the German economy and society and is of great interest in the partner country. Brief scientific reports and background studies on energy policy developments in Korea and Germany (including the acceptance of wind and solar energy or the system integration of renewables) provided additional support for the dialogue.

As project leader, adelphi cooperated with the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHK) in Japan and Korea, the Wuppertal Institute (WI), the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV) and Hennicke Consult. adelphi continues to be commissioned with the implementation of the Japanese-German and Korean-German Energy Partnership as part of the follow-up project. In a similar project, a consortium led by adelphi also supports the dialogue with the USA, Canada and New Zealand, as well as the partnership with Australia.