Korea is vulnerable to oil price volatility due to its significant energy import dependence, which accounts for almost 97% of the primary energy consumption. Korea ranked eighth worldwide in terms of the volume of oil consumption in 2014 according to the BP statistical review 2015. Consequently, the best way to address the energy problem in Korea and enhance its national energy security is to implement a mid-term strategic energy technology development plan supported by the Korean Research Council for Public Science and Technology, along with well-focused research and development (R&D). We thus established a mid-term strategic energy technology development plan for the five years from 2007 to 2011, which serves as a guide for producing focused R&D outputs and outcomes, and provides a continuous energy technology development policy for coping with the significant government scientific and technology policy shift toward a world class research institute. This paper applies data envelopment analysis (DEA), a multi-criteria decision-making approach, to measure the relative efficiency of nine selected energy technologies included in the mid-term strategic energy technology development plan, from an economic viewpoint, from 2007 to 2008. As policymakers, we need to analyze and determine whether nine energy technologies have to be carried out continuously or not by considering the R&D performance of the nine selected energy technologies is competitive under limited R&D investment and resources. Using the DEA approach, energy technology R&D programs can be thus effectively assessed in relation to the relative efficiency of the nine selected energy technologies. Two core technologies, namely redox flow battery (RFB) and combined heat and power plant (CHP), need to enhance their R&D outputs and outcomes to become relatively efficient technologies from an economic viewpoint. The government and energy policymakers can re-evaluate their status and enhance any weak points towards strategically shifting to a world-class research institute within five years.

Introduction

Korea is one of the largest oil consumers worldwide, ranking eighth in oil utilization in 2014, when it consumed 273.2 million tons [1]. Fig. 1 shows the world primary energy consumption in 2014: China is the world’s largest primary energy consuming nation, as a result of its rapid economic growth and expansion, followed by the U.S., Russia, and India in this order. The BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) are included in the top seven primary energy consuming countries, as their economic development required the heavy consumption of their energy resources. Japan, the fifth largest energy consuming nation, consumed 456.1 million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (TOE) in 2014. Regarding Korea’s primary oil consumption, its primary energy consumption is slightly larger than that of France. Additionally, 98% of the energy resources consumed by Korea are imported, making it vulnerable to oil price volatility. As a result, interest in the strategic and well-focused development of energy technologies has increased in Korea due to its large dependence on imported energy resources and limited research and development (R&D) budget. Korea is also facing the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in observance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The importance of this task is underscored not only by the fact that Korea is the ninth largest emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide, but also by that it registers the fastest rate of carbon dioxide emission increase. Over the past decades, the Korean economy has demonstrated rapid growth, along with high-tech industrialization. The Korean government has faced the challenge of moving from catch-up to lead-up strategies in the R&D sector.