Hyundai Oilbank Enters Hydrogen Fuel Cell Business

Fuel Cell Core Component Membrane Separator Facility to Be Established Within the Year... Mass Production in 2023
Expansion of Fuel Cell Business Including Electrolyte Membranes "Contributing to Localization of Components"
First High-Purity Hydrogen Facility by Domestic Refinery Also Equipped

Hyundai Oilbank's high-purity hydrogen refining facility installed at the Daesan plant. Among domestic oil refiners, this company is the first to have a high-purity hydrogen facility.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hyundai Oilbank announced on the 26th that it will establish production facilities for hydrogen fuel cell membranes within this year. Next year, it plans to conduct demonstration tests with domestic automobile manufacturers and start mass production of the products from the following year. As part of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group’s efforts to promote hydrogen business as a future growth engine in various fields, Hyundai Oilbank has expanded its business to include the production of hydrogen fuel and the core components of fuel cells that utilize it.

Previously, the company has been conducting research related to hydrogen fuel cells for automobiles centered on its Central Technology Research Institute since last year. With the demand for internal combustion engine vehicles decreasing and the relatively low entry barriers, the company has identified fuel cells as a new business and is prioritizing the establishment of membrane production facilities. It will directly conduct research and development related to equipment and production, while outsourcing production to an external company located in Cheonan, Chungnam Province.

Hydrogen fuel cells generate, store, and supply electricity using hydrogen as a power source and are often compared to ultra-small power plants. In the case of large commercial vehicles such as trucks, the industry believes that using hydrogen fuel cells is preferable because electric vehicles using lithium-ion batteries tend to be excessively heavy.

The membrane serves as the backbone that determines the strength of the electrolyte membrane and greatly affects the output improvement and durability of the fuel cell system. The electrolyte membrane, which blocks the movement of electrons separated from hydrogen gas and selectively allows only hydrogen ions to pass through, is one of the core components of hydrogen fuel cells. Hyundai Oilbank expects to complete the installation and commissioning of membrane production facilities within this year.

The company plans to expand its business to include electrolyte membranes starting next year as the second phase. This is part of its plan to contribute to the localization of parts. Although South Korea is known to have advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology, it still relies heavily on imports for key components such as electrolyte membranes and gas diffusion layers.

Hyundai Oilbank aims to achieve annual sales of 500 billion KRW and operating profits exceeding 100 billion KRW in the hydrogen fuel cell sector alone by 2030 through the steady implementation of its plans. In the long term, it is also considering entering the unit cell business covering all automotive hydrogen fuel cell components such as gas diffusion layers and electrode separators, as well as fuel cell system businesses for buildings and heavy equipment.

Recently, the company established a high-purity hydrogen refining facility for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at its Daesan plant in Seosan, Chungnam Province. Until now, it has produced about 200,000 tons of hydrogen annually for process operation. To use hydrogen as fuel for vehicles, the purity must be increased to 99.999%. Hyundai Oilbank is the first domestic oil company to produce high-purity hydrogen for vehicles. The facility can produce up to 3,000 kg per day, enough to refuel 600 Hyundai Nexo vehicles.

Earlier, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group announced a mid-to-long-term plan in March to build a hydrogen value chain covering hydrogen production, transportation, storage, and utilization. Hyundai Oilbank is also promoting its hydrogen business in various ways as part of this initiative. By 2030, it plans to establish 180 hydrogen vehicle charging stations nationwide and collaborate with Korea South-East Power on hydrogen fuel cell power generation projects. It has developed a blue hydrogen business model that recycles carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production into carbonic gas or dry ice.

Kang Dal-ho, President of Hyundai Oilbank, said, "We have recently been actively pursuing eco-friendly businesses such as solar panel material production, greenhouse gas resource recovery, and bio aviation fuel," adding, "We will continue to expand investments in three major future businesses: blue hydrogen, white bio, and eco-friendly materials."

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