POSCO, Full-Scale Promotion of Technology Development and Business Cooperation to Secure Green Hydrogen Capabilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO is officially stepping up to secure its capabilities in the hydrogen business through technology development and business cooperation for the production, import, and utilization of overseas green hydrogen.

On the 18th, POSCO signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for "Promoting Research Cooperation in the Hydrogen Field" with KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology) and RIST (Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology) at the POSCO Center in Seoul.

At the signing ceremony, Cho Joo-ik, Head of POSCO’s Hydrogen Business Division, stated, "We will contribute to advancing Korea’s green hydrogen era by successfully commercializing ammonia hydrogen extraction technology, a core technology for hydrogen energy utilization."

Currently, methods for transporting hydrogen include hydrogen liquefaction, ammonia synthesis, and various new technologies, among which ammonia synthesis is considered the most efficient. Synthesizing hydrogen into ammonia allows the use of existing distribution networks and results in lower loss rates during transportation. However, while the technology to synthesize hydrogen into ammonia has already been commercialized, the technology to extract hydrogen back from ammonia is still in its early stages.

Accordingly, POSCO plans to enhance its competitiveness in the green hydrogen business by developing technology to extract hydrogen in large volumes from ammonia in collaboration with KIST and RIST. The developed technology will be used to supply green hydrogen produced overseas as raw materials and energy sources for domestic industry and power generation.

KIST developed technology last year to extract high-purity hydrogen from ammonia and will now work with POSCO to develop catalysts that enable highly efficient hydrogen extraction from ammonia.

RIST is developing the entire large-scale ammonia hydrogen extraction process at a commercial level, which is currently unavailable domestically.

Earlier, on the 8th, POSCO Group signed an MOU with Origin Energy, Australia’s largest power and gas company, to introduce ammonia necessary for green hydrogen utilization domestically. This is POSCO’s second overseas green hydrogen production project cooperation following its partnership with FMG in December last year.

Currently, Origin Energy is developing a project in Tasmania, located in southern Australia, to produce 70,000 tons of green hydrogen annually using 500MW of hydropower.

POSCO Group and Origin Energy plan to jointly conduct a feasibility study for this project by the end of this year and, if deemed competitive, will proceed with the project in earnest. The hydrogen produced locally in Australia will be synthesized into ammonia, imported by POSCO Group, and then hydrogen will be extracted and supplied.

POSCO’s current green hydrogen business model involves producing hydrogen by splitting water using electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, synthesizing it into ammonia to improve efficiency for transportation and storage, and then extracting hydrogen from ammonia for use as raw materials and energy sources in industry and power generation.

Through continuous hydrogen business efforts such as cooperation in ammonia hydrogen extraction technology development and participation in green hydrogen production projects, POSCO plans to establish a value chain base for green hydrogen production, transportation, storage, and utilization. It also aims to lead the development of steel materials and solutions for hydrogen storage and transportation, thereby advancing related infrastructure construction.

Meanwhile, in December last year, POSCO announced its vision as a "Leading Green Hydrogen Company Driving the Hydrogen Economy," setting a goal to achieve 5 million tons of hydrogen production and 30 trillion KRW in hydrogen sales by 2050.

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