"Companies Must Unite to Accelerate the Hydrogen Society" Establishment of a Cooperative System Among 15 National Representatives

[Korea H2 Business Summit]
Insufficient Infrastructure, Workforce, and Funding
Value Chain Must Be Organically Linked from Early Production to Distribution and Final Utilization

Hyundai Motor, SK, POSCO, and 2 Other Groups
Investing 43 Trillion Won by 2030
Avoiding Reckless Overlapping Investments
Focusing and Selecting to Generate Synergy

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The 'Korea H2 Business Summit,' launched on the 8th with 15 leading domestic companies at its core, is the first consultative body centered on individual companies connected by hydrogen. The reason why prominent domestic companies have come together with a unified vision for the hydrogen business is that this industry is just emerging, and due to the nature of the energy sector, collaboration among players across various value chains is essential. The role of companies has become increasingly important in addressing environmental issues such as climate change, and the competition for leadership over new energy sources has intensified beyond national borders. This is the background for the high expectations placed on this consultative body.

"Unity Accelerates the Hydrogen Society"

Our government has set the transition to a hydrogen society as a national agenda because the global energy industry paradigm is changing, and we believe we have sufficient competitiveness. Fossil fuels centered on oil, which led the past century, are limited in resources and cannot escape environmental problems, inevitably reducing their usage.

Environmentally friendly renewable energies such as solar and wind power face many constraints, including time and environmental factors. In this situation, the role of companies is inevitably important to accelerate the transition to a hydrogen society. Since related infrastructure, personnel, and resources are still insufficient, companies can complement each other's shortcomings and compete in areas of strength to grow the overall market.

At the '2021 Hydrogen Mobility+ Show' held on the 8th at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the Hyundai Motor Group booth is being set up. / Goyang = Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Especially, the entire value chain?from the initial production stage to transportation, storage, distribution, and ultimately utilization?must be organically linked to establish itself early. The oil industry that drives modern society was like this in its early days. Standard Oil, created by Rockefeller in the late 19th century, was split into several companies in the 20th century under antitrust laws, and these companies competed with each other to lay the foundation of the modern oil industry. The market expanded significantly with the surge in oil demand due to Ford's automobiles.

According to the H2 Business Summit Secretariat, there are about 900 projects worldwide related to the hydrogen value chain. Several places have begun constructing large-scale plants producing green hydrogen, which emits no carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is classified by production process based on carbon emissions into green (no carbon emissions), blue (carbon dioxide generated but removed by capture technology), and gray (hydrogen produced as a byproduct in steel and chemical processes).

On the 8th, key company heads attending the 'H2 Business Summit' held ahead of the opening of the '2021 Hydrogen Mobility+ Show' at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, are taking a group photo. From the left: Heo Jeong-seok, Vice Chairman of Iljin; Choi Yoon-beom, Vice Chairman of Korea Zinc; Lee Gyu-ho, Vice President of Kolon Global; Park Jung-won, Chairman of Doosan Group; Heo Se-hong, President of GS Caltex; Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group; Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group; Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group; Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group; Kim Dong-kwan, President of Hanwha Solutions; Jung Ki-sun, Vice President of Hyundai Heavy Industries; Cho Hyun-sang, Vice Chairman of Hyosung Group; Koo Dong-hwi, CEO of E1; Kim Sang-beom, Chairman of Isu Group. /Goyang=Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Value Chain is Crucial in Hydrogen Business, Enabling Selection and Concentration

The five groups leading this consultative body?Hyundai Motor, SK, POSCO, Hyosung, and Hanwha?have pledged to invest 43 trillion won across all hydrogen business sectors by 2030. With the formation of this consultative body, a channel for active communication during business promotion has been created, which is expected to generate synergy by avoiding indiscriminate overlapping investments and enabling selection and concentration. Hyundai Motor, which early on identified hydrogen as one of the next-generation mobility options and has emerged as the global number one player in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, plans to actively promote the widespread use of hydrogen throughout society beyond transportation. Based on its accumulated capabilities in fuel cells, it already possesses outstanding technology in hydrogen utilization and consumption.

SK, the longest-standing energy company in Korea, has announced a vision to become the global number one by 2025, covering the entire spectrum from hydrogen production to distribution and supply. It plans to maximize the use of infrastructure centered on existing refining and chemical plants in Incheon and Ulsan, while also investing domestically and internationally to secure core technologies.

The Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant, scheduled for completion by the year after next, will have an annual capacity of 30,000 tons. Considering that leading global companies such as Linde and Air Liquide currently operate at about 10,000 tons annually, this is a considerable scale. Additionally, SK E&S, which operates existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) businesses, will lead the establishment of a large-scale blue and green hydrogen production system. SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said, "The hydrogen industry is not only a response to climate change but also a new industry for Korea that can contribute to society by creating future jobs and economically through global market expansion. SK Group will play a pivotal role in revitalizing the hydrogen ecosystem."

Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO Group (second from the left), is visiting the POSCO Group booth at the Hydrogen Mobility+ Show on the 8th.

POSCO has also positioned hydrogen as one of the pillars of the group's future growth engines. It has set a goal to produce 5 million tons annually and achieve sales of 30 trillion won by 2050. The steel industry is considered one of the highest carbon-emitting sectors, and POSCO is developing new technologies such as hydrogen reduction steelmaking. POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said, "For the country's carbon neutrality, POSCO must take a leading role," adding, "We will fundamentally innovate the steel manufacturing process by commercializing hydrogen reduction steelmaking."

Doosan Group also plans to secure core competencies related to hydrogen energy production and utilization and actively foster hydrogen business. Doosan Group Chairman Park Jeong-won said, "Doosan has led Korea's hydrogen power generation market in terms of hydrogen utilization and is expanding into fields such as turbines and drones," adding, "On the production side, we are securing core competencies in green hydrogen production and hydrogen liquefaction plants and plan to actively develop these areas."

On the 8th, POSCO's hydrogen car parts were exhibited at the '2021 Hydrogen Mobility+ Show' held at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
Goyang=Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

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