President Lee Jae-myung attended the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Kananaskis, Canada on the 17th (local time) and emphasized the importance of energy security and stabilizing the supply chain of critical minerals. Lee also expressed a willingness to cooperate in establishing a stable global AI ecosystem. In particular, Lee cited the 'energy expressway' that connects renewable energy production sites with electricity consumption areas as an example of energy infrastructure development.
◇ Lee introduces distributed energy infrastructure, the 'energy expressway'
On this day, President Lee spoke twice at the expanded session of the G7 summit on the topic of 'The Future of Energy Security,' addressing 'diversifying energy supply chains' and 'AI-energy linkage.' The expanded session was held alongside a working luncheon, attended by invited countries including Korea, as well as G7 member countries, excluding Ukraine.
President Lee first noted that "amid the rapid advancement of AI technology and the subsequent surge in electricity demand, energy supply chains are under threat from climate volatility and geopolitical instability." Lee stated, "Robust energy security and the stabilization of critical mineral supply chains are important." As part of energy system construction measures, Lee proposed ▲ increasing the share of renewable energy utilizing domestic resources and ▲ the construction of an 'energy expressway' using ultra-high-voltage direct current transmission networks (HVDC).
The energy expressway project involves first establishing a power grid along the west coast connecting the Honam region to the metropolitan area, then expanding to a U-shaped power grid connecting the western, southern, and eastern coastal areas. Another approach mentioned was the establishment of a decentralized 'microgrid' that operates at the local level to reduce energy expenses and increase regional income. A microgrid refers to an intelligent power grid that self-generates, stores, and consumes electricity in small-scale areas.
President Lee stated, "Reliable energy systems that can withstand cyber attacks without power outages must be built." Lee emphasized the need to "foster energy storage systems, smart AI power grids, energy consumption optimization based on electricity prices, and cybersecurity technologies as new growth engines to enhance the reliability of energy systems." Lee also announced plans to strengthen bilateral and multilateral international cooperation with countries possessing critical minerals.
◇ 'Developing AI semiconductors to reduce power consumption of AI data centers'
President Lee delivered a second speech on the topic of 'Building an AI ecosystem.' Lee mentioned the development of AI semiconductors based on neural processing units (NPUs) that could significantly reduce power consumption of AI data centers, aiming to contribute to the international community. Lee stated, "As a central country in the semiconductor supply chain, Korea will contribute to international cooperation and solidarity for the stability of the AI semiconductor supply chain."
President Lee further introduced that Korea has been contributing to stabilizing critical mineral supply chains since July last year as the chair of the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP). The MSP is a multilateral cooperation body launched in June 2022 under the leadership of the United States to stabilize and diversify critical mineral supply chains. Korea holds the chair until June 2026, with participation from G7 countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia, India, Estonia, and the European Union (EU).
As this year's G7 chair country, Canada pursued the adoption of result documents on specific topics such as AI and infrastructure instead of comprehensive joint statements that were utilized in the past. Invited countries can participate in the 'G7 Critical Minerals Action Plan,' aiming to diversify critical mineral supply chains, and the 'Kananaskis Wildfire Charter' document to promote international cooperation on wildfires. The presidential office reported that Korea participated in both documents.