[월간수소경제 이종수 기자] SK will invest about 18 trillion won over the next five years to create a domestic hydrogen ecosystem in earnest.
On the 2nd, SK announced plans to build a domestic hydrogen ecosystem at the ‘3rd Hydrogen Economy Committee’ presided over by the Prime Minister held at SK Incheon Petrochemical on the 2nd, and started the business in earnest.
SK aims to become the world’s number one hydrogen company in the value-chain of hydrogen production, distribution, and consumption through investment in domestic hydrogen business infrastructure and partnerships with global companies.
SK’s strategy to create a domestic hydrogen ecosystem is largely carried out in two stages.
In the first phase, 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen, the world’s largest by-product hydrogen, will be supplied in connection with Incheon City’s’bio-by-product hydrogen production cluster construction project’ by 2023, and in the second phase, clean hydrogen from carbon dioxide removed by 2025 25 It is planning to achieve the world’s No. 1 eco-friendly hydrogen company by additionally producing 10,000 tons in the region near the Boryeong LNG Terminal.
The 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen produced in the first phase is the amount required for 75,000 hydrogen cars, Nexo, to travel around the earth at the same time (about 46,520 km).
In the second phase, when 250,000 tons are additionally produced, SK plans to produce and supply a total of 280,000 tons of eco-friendly hydrogen annually in Korea, and use these business experiences and capabilities to fully promote hydrogen business in Asia, including China and Vietnam.
In the process of establishing a domestic hydrogen ecosystem, SK created jobs in the fields of construction, shipbuilding, and automobile manufacturing, as well as fuel cells and hydrogen production, resulting in employment inducement of a total of 209,000 people, including Incheon, and social and economic benefits of 34 trillion. It is expected to generate 100 billion won.
Invested a total of KRW 1.85 trillion in building a hydrogen value chain
SK E&S, SK Group’s hydrogen business promotion company, will invest about KRW 500 billion to build a liquefied hydrogen production base to achieve the 30,000 tonnes of liquefied hydrogen production system, which is the first step goal. SK E&S plans to purchase a site of about 13,000 pyeong in the SK Incheon Petrochemical Complex in Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, and complete a hydrogen liquefaction plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons by 2023.
When this facility is completed, byproduct hydrogen supplied from SK Incheon Petrochemical is purified to high purity, processed into a liquid, and supplied to the metropolitan area.
The first phase project is also significant in that it is one of the pillars of the Incheon city hydrogen cluster construction project. The discovery of new hydrogen-related businesses, creation of high added value, inducement of new employment, and influx of population are expected to contribute greatly to the economy of the Incheon region. It is expected to become an important foundation for the expansion of hydrogen infrastructure at Incheon International Airport, Incheon Port, and industrial complexes.
In addition, SK E&S will invest about KRW 5.3 trillion by 2025 to complete the world’s largest clean hydrogen production base that produces eco-friendly hydrogen from natural gas (LNG), and produces clean hydrogen that removes 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. , The goal is to supply. SK E&S’s clean hydrogen production plan is the only plan to produce 250,000 tons of clean hydrogen per year in a single production base using carbon dioxide capture and treatment technology.
Large-scale investment, such as construction of hydrogen charging stations and fuel cell power plants
In addition to supplying liquefied hydrogen, SK plans to make active investments in establishing a distribution system for eco-friendly hydrogen.
SK plans to operate 100 hydrogen charging stations nationwide by 2025 to supply 80,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen per year, and build a fuel cell power plant of about 400MW to supply 200,000 tons of hydrogen per year through a dedicated pipeline. to be.
As part of this, SK is also discussing ways to cooperate in various fields to revitalize the hydrogen economy, such as building a liquefied hydrogen charging station, expanding the introduction of hydrogen vehicles, and building a hydrogen experience center.
Chairman Tae-won Choi, who attended the Hydrogen Economic Committee on this day, said, “Hydrogen is an eco-friendly energy suitable for the domestic environment because it is not affected by the climate and the land area required for production is small. We will do our best to fulfill our corporate responsibilities.”
As SK and Hyundai Motor Group’s major executives, which are reinforcing cooperation in the electric vehicle battery business, meet in one place, expectations for the hydrogen business partnership that these two groups are spurring as future growth engine businesses are also increasing.
The management of the two groups held a meeting in advance of the Hydrogen Economic Committee on this day to discuss concrete cooperation measures, such as promoting the establishment of the’K-Hydrogen Council’, which is a CEO consultation for hydrogen charging infrastructure construction and cooperation between domestic companies and hydrogen business cooperation, in the first half of the year. Discussed.
After the meeting, the two companies signed a business agreement with Incheon Metropolitan City and Incheon Seo-gu Offices to establish a foundation for Incheon Metropolitan City’s hydrogen business.
The parties to the agreement, including SK, will actively cooperate to expand the hydrogen economy by discovering and supporting various business models related to hydrogen in the Incheon area.
An SK official said, “SK will support the achievement of the domestic hydrogen economy roadmap target by expanding private investment such as large-scale hydrogen infrastructure and securing global core technologies.” We will build a solid business structure based on cooperation with various partners.”
SK actively utilizes Plug Power’s technology and business experience to build a domestic hydrogen economy ecosystem such as the Incheon liquefied hydrogen business through the establishment of a joint venture with Plug Power, a leading U.S. hydrogen market company that has recently secured its largest shareholder position, and jointly enters the Asian hydrogen market. It is also planning to materialize the cooperative relationship for
SK invested a total of KRW 1.85 trillion ($1.6 billion) by implementing an additional stock purchase option at the end of January, securing about 10% of the stake.
On the other hand, the event was attended by government and local government officials including Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun, the chairman of the Hydrogen Economy Committee, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Seong Yun-mo, Environment Minister Han Han-ae, Incheon Mayor Park Nam-chun, and Seo-gu Officer Lee Jae-hyun. , Hyung-wook Choo, president of SK E&S and head of SK Hydrogen Business Promotion Group, and Yoon-seok Choi, president of SK Incheon Petrochemical, attended.
From the Hyundai Motor Group side, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Eui-sun Eui-sun, Hyundai Motor Company President Gong Young-woon, Hyundai Motor Company President Jae-Hoon Jang, Hyundai Mobis President Sung-Hwan Cho, and Hyundai Motor Vice President Se-Hoon Kim participated.
Participants listened to SK’s strategy to build a hydrogen ecosystem and toured the site in SK Incheon Petrochemical, where the liquefied hydrogen production base will be built.