Ki-sun Jeong (left), vice president of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings and Senior Vice President Ahmad Al Saadi Aramko (right), signed an MOU for cooperation in hydrogen and ammonia projects on the 3rd. Provided by Hyundai Heavy Industries Group
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has formed a’hydrogen alliance’ with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. Ki-seon Jeong, vice president of Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (Head of Management Support Office), who has been leading the cooperation with Aramco, has come to the fore. Vice President Jung is expanding the business stride by leading the group’s future businesses such as hydrogen and robots. Vice President Jung is the eldest son of the Asan Foundation Chairman Chung Mong-joon, the majority shareholder of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group.
Established 300 hydrogen charging stations at Hyundai Oilbank
On the 3rd, Vice President Chung signed a’MOU on Hydrogen and Ammonia Projects’ with Senior Vice President Ahmad Al Saadi Aramko. The two companies decided to specify a business model that utilizes hydrogen and ammonia through an agreement signed online and also promote joint research and development (R&D).
According to the agreement, Hyundai Oilbank, a refinery subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, plans to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Aramco and then produce blue hydrogen at its hydrogen production facility. Blue hydrogen is hydrogen energy that reduces carbon emissions by trapping and storing carbon from the production process, and is used in desulfurization facilities or sold as fuel for vehicles and power generation.
The carbon dioxide generated in the process is liquefied and supplied back to Aramco. Aramco plans to use the loaded carbon dioxide for oil recovery enhancement technology (EOR) in local oil fields. It is a technology that injects carbon into a depleted oil field to remove the remaining oil while keeping carbon in the ground.
Hyundai Oilbank plans to build 300 hydrogen charging stations by 2040 to sell hydrogen. In addition, it plans to receive blue ammonia from Aramco and use it as fuel for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) boiler scheduled to be established by 2024. The two companies will strengthen cooperation in the shipbuilding business as well. Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding, the shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, is the first in the world to develop a ship that can simultaneously carry LPG and carbon dioxide, as well as ammonia transport and propulsion ships.
Vice President Jeong leads successive collaborations with Aramco
This hydrogen alliance was led by Vice President Jeong. He started cooperation with Aramco in November 2015 with an MOU in the shipbuilding, engine, and plant sectors. In June 2019, when the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman visited Korea, he interviewed alone. Aramco, a state-owned company, is cultivating the hydrogen business in earnest in preparation for the era of’de-oil’. Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman said earlier this year that “Saudi will lead the renewable energy field.” It is an analysis that in this process, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, which has built up trust through partnerships for many years, and the hydrogen business are looking for new opportunities.
Vice President Jung is leading the group’s future business and is in full swing in ‘3rd generation management’. The Board of Directors of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group launched the’Future Committee’ in September last year, with Vice President Chung as its chairman. The committee, consisting of vice president Jeong and 20-30 employees in their 30s dispatched from each subsidiary, is discovering new businesses in fields such as hydrogen, robots, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Vice-President Jeong said at the agreement ceremony on the day, “This is the first step that the two companies dreaming of’hydrogen dream’ will take together,” and “We will grow into a leading eco-friendly energy group by using hydrogen and ammonia. Senior Vice President Al Saadi said, “We expect that the cooperation between the two companies and carbon capture will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Reporter Mansoo Choi [email protected]
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