9.9% investment in plug power… Secured the position of the largest shareholder
Leading new markets through the creation of an Asian hydrogen ecosystem
[이투뉴스] SK Group will invest 1.6 trillion won in hydrogen companies in the United States to start the hydrogen business in earnest. It was only a month after establishing a hydrogen business promotion team with hydrogen as the next major business in December last year.
SK and SK E&S announced on the 7th that they will become the largest shareholders by securing a 9.9% stake in Plug Power in the US. This investment was made in a way that SK and SK E&S invested 800 billion won each to jointly invest 1.6 trillion won.
Plug Power possesses key technologies related to hydrogen such as vehicle fuel cells (PEMFC) in the hydrogen business value chain, electrolyzer, which is a key facility for water electrolysis, liquefied hydrogen plant and hydrogen charging station construction technology. Plug Power is recording a high sales growth of 50% every year, and its market capitalization reached 16 trillion won as of the end of last year.
PEMFC (polymer electrolyte fuel cell) is a high-power fuel cell with a larger current density than other fuel cells. A polymer membrane capable of permeating hydrogen ions is used as an electrolyte. It is used as a fuel cell for vehicles because it enables low-temperature start-up, rapid output, and direct hydrogen injection.
Plug Power also possesses hydrogen-based mobility business capabilities such as forklifts and trucks that use hydrogen as fuel. Plug Power is increasing its strength by monopolizing the entire U.S. hydrogen forklift market by supplying hydrogen forklifts to global distribution companies such as Amazon and Walmart.
Recently, it has entered the mid- to large-sized truck market by utilizing the hydrogen charging station network established throughout the United States, and is diversifying the use of fuel cells for drones, aircraft, and power generation. It is promoting business expansion to the European market, which is active in building a hydrogen ecosystem.
In the second half of this year, the world’s largest fuel cell production plant with an annual capacity of 1.5 GW will be completed in New York, USA, and production will begin. Through this, it is expected to solidify its position as a global leader by lowering the production cost of fuel cells and water electrolysis facilities, which are core plug power products, and securing cost competitiveness.
With this investment, SK plans to lead the Asian hydrogen market through synergy between the two companies. In Korea, the technology of Plug Power is used to accelerate the creation of the hydrogen ecosystem that SK is envisioning. In addition, it is a strategy to preempt new business development opportunities by using the network of SK Group in China and Vietnam.
Last year, SK established a hydrogen business promotion team composed of experts from affiliates such as energy-related affiliates SK E&S, SK E&C, and SK Innovation. SK has a hydrogen production capacity of 280,000 tons by 2025 and aims to operate a value chain ranging from hydrogen production to distribution and supply.
An SK official said, “We plan to continuously increase our influence in the global hydrogen market by combining SK Group’s business capabilities and various external partnerships. We will establish ourselves as a leading ESG management company by creating an eco-friendly hydrogen ecosystem one step ahead. I said.
Reporter Jin Gyeong-nam [email protected]
Copyright © ::: Global Green Growth Media-E2News Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited