Hyosung to Build World's Largest Liquefied Hydrogen Plant

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon has taken a full-scale step to revitalize the hydrogen economy, following last year's large-scale carbon fiber investment by deciding to establish the world's largest liquefied hydrogen plant.

Hyosung, together with Linde Group, a global chemical company specializing in industrial gases, plans to invest a total of 300 billion KRW by 2022 to build a value chain encompassing liquefied hydrogen production, transportation, and the installation and operation of charging facilities. To this end, on the 28th, an MOU was signed at the Mapo headquarters in Seoul with Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon and Linde Korea Chairman Sung Baek-seok in attendance.

The two companies will first establish a liquefied hydrogen plant on approximately 30,000㎡ (about 10,000 pyeong) of land within Hyosung Group’s Ulsan Yongyeon plant site. With an annual production capacity of 13,000 tons (enough for 100,000 passenger cars), it will be the world's largest single facility. To achieve this, a joint venture will be established within this year, with construction starting in the first quarter of next year and completion planned for 2022.

The new plant will produce liquefied hydrogen by applying Linde’s hydrogen liquefaction technology and equipment to by-product hydrogen produced at Hyosung Chemical’s Yongyeon plant. Hydrogen liquefaction technology involves liquefying hydrogen in a high-pressure gaseous state, and Linde possesses top-level liquefied hydrogen production technology.

The produced liquefied hydrogen can be used not only for vehicles but also in various mobility sectors such as drones, ships, and forklifts, contributing to the development of related industries.

The two companies also plan to build liquefied hydrogen charging infrastructure in line with the plant’s completion. To supply liquefied hydrogen, they will develop a cooperative partnership to establish about 120 hydrogen charging stations nationwide in key locations (50 new stations and expansion of liquefied hydrogen charging facilities at 70 stations).

Hyosung Heavy Industries entered the CNG charging system business in 2000 and has been operating hydrogen charging station supply business since 2008. Currently, it holds a 40% market share in the domestic hydrogen charging station market, ranking first, with 15 hydrogen charging stations built nationwide.

Chairman Cho Hyun-joon stated on this day, "The core of Hyosung’s liquefied hydrogen business is to store and transport hydrogen efficiently and safely," adding, "This investment will play a significant role in revitalizing the domestic hydrogen industry ecosystem in the future."

This MOU is significant in that Hyosung has established a solid foundation to lead the hydrogen economy ecosystem in the mobility sector. Last August, Hyosung announced its carbon fiber investment plan to activate the hydrogen economy at the Jeonju carbon fiber plant, attended by President Moon Jae-in. Chairman Cho plans to invest about 1 trillion KRW in Jeonbuk Jeonju by 2028 to produce 24,000 tons of carbon fiber annually.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.