SK Accelerates Hydrogen Business, Invests in World's First Turquoise Hydrogen Production Company

Acquired Partial Stake in Monolith with US NextEra
Secured Board Seats
Possess Commercial Blue Hydrogen Technology
Accelerating Expansion of Hydrogen Ecosystem

Monolith Nebraska Production Facility. Photo by SK

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK Group's holding company, SK Inc., announced on the 3rd that it has become a major investor by acquiring a stake in the U.S. hydrogen company Monolith. This company is the first in the world to develop and successfully mass-produce turquoise hydrogen, an eco-friendly hydrogen that does not produce carbon dioxide during the process of making hydrogen an energy source.

NextEra, the largest power generation and renewable energy development company in the U.S., also participated in this investment alongside SK. Last year, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan's largest heavy industry company actively entering the hydrogen business, also invested, making Monolith a company attracting attention in the global market. Although the acquisition scale and amount were not specifically disclosed, it is reported to be in the hundreds of billions of Korean won. SK also secured a seat on Monolith's board of directors.

Hydrogen, spotlighted as the next-generation energy source, is largely divided into gray, blue, and green hydrogen depending on the production method. Gray hydrogen is byproduct hydrogen generated during petrochemical production or made by reforming natural gas, producing a large amount of carbon dioxide in the process, making it difficult to consider it eco-friendly hydrogen. Most hydrogen currently used is gray. On the other hand, green and blue hydrogen are environmentally friendly as they either do not emit carbon dioxide or undergo separate carbon capture processes. However, mass production is difficult or costly, and there are limitations with current technology.

Turquoise hydrogen is attracting attention as an intermediate step between blue and green hydrogen. It produces hydrogen by decomposing natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon, generating no carbon dioxide, so it does not require carbon capture processes like blue hydrogen. Compared to green hydrogen, it consumes less electricity. Many companies recently entering the hydrogen business, including SK Group, see green hydrogen produced from renewable energy as the ultimate solution. However, they expect the technology level to support this only around 2030 at the earliest.

Monolith possesses proprietary technology that produces high-purity turquoise hydrogen and solid carbon by decomposing natural gas in a reactor it developed independently. It was the first in the world to adopt this hydrogen production method and is the only company at the commercialization stage after mass production. The carbon black produced when making turquoise hydrogen is an eco-friendly material with increasing demand, especially from the global tire industry.

SK Group is building a value chain covering all areas from hydrogen production to storage and transportation. SK Inc., which specializes in investments, has added a turquoise hydrogen portfolio through this investment. Last year, SK formed a task force dedicated to the hydrogen business at the group level, and earlier this year, it acquired shares in Plug Power, which has strengths in water electrolysis technology, becoming the largest shareholder. Utilizing byproduct hydrogen, SK plans to produce 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen annually starting the year after next and establish a production system for 250,000 tons of eco-friendly hydrogen from 2025.

SK Inc. stated, "Competition to secure technology in the hydrogen sector is intensifying," and added, "(Through this investment) we have secured clean hydrogen core technology that can be commercialized immediately and will implement various measures to build a green hydrogen portfolio ahead in the long term."

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