SK Group Completes Future Energy Puzzle with 'Battery-Solar-Hydrogen'...

SK, Leading the Asian Hydrogen Market "Creating 30 Trillion Won Value by 2025"

Leveraging Plug Power's Technology

Utilizing SK Group's Network

Accelerating Preemption of Asian Markets including China and Vietnam

Established Dedicated Hydrogen Team Last Year

Promoting Production of 'Green Hydrogen' Using Renewable Energy

Securing Production Capacity of 280,000 Tons by 2025

Major Corporations like Hyundai Motor and POSCO

Continuously Expanding Investments to Lead Hydrogen Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] As SK Group became the largest shareholder of Plug Power, a global leader in the hydrogen business sector, analysts say it has completed the puzzle of future energy business extending beyond refining to batteries, solar power, and hydrogen. Amid worldwide interest in next-generation eco-friendly energy businesses, SK has set a plan to accelerate securing leadership in the Asian hydrogen market through synergy with Plug Power.

◇ SK-Plug Power Joint Venture Plan... Preempting Asian Hydrogen Market = SK will first utilize Plug Power's technology domestically to expedite the creation of the hydrogen ecosystem envisioned by SK, while in China, Vietnam, and other countries, it plans to leverage SK Group's existing network to secure opportunities for new business development.

Initially, SK plans to concretize its business model by jointly entering the Asian hydrogen market through the establishment of a joint venture (JV) with Plug Power. It is expected to aggressively expand business by combining Plug Power's hydrogen business know-how with the capabilities of SK Group affiliates. To this end, SK established a dedicated hydrogen business team called the 'Hydrogen Business Promotion Group' last year, composed of about 20 experts from related companies such as SK E&S, SK Construction, and SK Innovation, and immediately began executing business strategies. Centered on SK E&S, they plan to build liquefied hydrogen production facilities with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons starting in 2023 to supply the metropolitan area. Furthermore, they will operate a large-scale blue hydrogen production system. SK E&S, which directly imports over 3 million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually, will utilize the secured natural gas to produce 250,000 tons of blue hydrogen annually starting in 2025. Blue hydrogen is an eco-friendly hydrogen production method that captures carbon dioxide.

In the long term, SK Group also plans to promote the production of 'green hydrogen' using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Green hydrogen is the ultimate eco-friendly hydrogen that emits no carbon dioxide during production, distribution, or supply stages. SK aims to establish a total hydrogen production capacity of 280,000 tons by 2025 and plans to actively develop demand by utilizing SK Energy's gas stations and truck rest stops as hubs for eco-friendly energy, as well as fuel cell power plants. They will also simultaneously pursue global market penetration through securing core technologies.

In addition to securing technology through equity investments, SK is actively developing its own technology. SK Innovation, in collaboration with Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, has embarked on developing innovative technology that produces electricity and hydrogen from carbon dioxide. This method involves introducing carbon dioxide into water and triggering an electrochemical reaction to generate electricity and hydrogen, and it is reported that the technology has already been validated at the research stage. Once completed, this technology is expected to transform carbon dioxide, which inevitably occurs in industrial sites, from a major cause of environmental pollution into a new energy source. Moreover, SK is considering ways to develop the hydrogen ecosystem beyond just production. In the domestic market, the shortage of hydrogen transportation and hydrogen charging stations poses challenges to the spread of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. SK has experience leading the creation of an energy ecosystem through value chain integration in existing energy businesses such as petroleum and LNG. Utilizing this, SK plans to quickly establish a virtuous cycle structure for the domestic hydrogen ecosystem. An SK official stated, "We expect to create an additional net asset value of about 30 trillion KRW from hydrogen business at the group level by 2025."

◇ Hyundai Motor, POSCO, and Other Domestic Companies Strengthen Hydrogen Business = Hydrogen, spotlighted as the next-generation clean energy source, is expected to see domestic annual demand increase to 1.94 million tons by 2030 and over 5.26 million tons by 2040, with its application expanding from petrochemical industries to transportation and power generation. Accordingly, the government has launched the Hydrogen Economy Committee and declared the Green New Deal policy to promote the transition to a hydrogen economy.

Domestic conglomerates are also racing to secure leadership in the hydrogen ecosystem by continuing future investments in hydrogen businesses. Hyundai Motor Group is actively expanding the global hydrogen ecosystem as well as domestically. Hyundai has been working on hydrogen fuel cell system development for over 20 years, achieving milestones such as the world's first mass production of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, domestic sales of 10,000 units of the Nexo, and the entry of the hydrogen fuel cell truck Xcient into European and Middle Eastern markets. At the end of last year, Hyundai announced plans to invest 14.9 trillion KRW to fully promote hydrogen business and expand its electrification lineup. Recently, it launched the hydrogen fuel cell brand 'HTWO' and is actively expanding business centered on four major bases: Korea, Europe, the United States, and China. Through this, Hyundai aims to sell 700,000 hydrogen fuel cells by 2030.

In the steel industry, POSCO unveiled a hydrogen business roadmap at the end of last year to establish a hydrogen production system of 5 million tons by 2050. Currently, POSCO has an annual hydrogen production capacity of 7,000 tons using by-product gas and natural gas generated during steel manufacturing processes, and extracts about 3,500 tons of by-product hydrogen used for temperature control and oxidation prevention during steel production. Additionally, POSCO has developed the world's first steel product for hydrogen fuel cell separator plates and supplies it to domestically produced hydrogen vehicles, demonstrating its capabilities in hydrogen production and utilization. Moving forward, POSCO plans to increase by-product hydrogen production capacity to 70,000 tons by 2025 and produce 500,000 tons of blue hydrogen by 2030 in partnership with global companies. Simultaneously, it aims to establish a green hydrogen production system of 2 million tons by 2040 and complete a hydrogen production system of 5 million tons by 2050.

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