SK E&S-Coupang, Korea's First 'Eco-Friendly Hydrogen Logistics Center' Established

SK Plug Hyverse, Coupang Fulfillment Service, Kendall Square Asset Management
'Agreement on Promotion of Eco-friendly Hydrogen Logistics Center Construction and Operation Project' Signed

At H2MEET 2022 held at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, a space replicating an eco-friendly hydrogen logistics center has been set up within the SK E&S exhibition hall. Photo by SK E&S

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] SK E&S, Coupang, and Kendal Square are launching the construction of the country's first 'eco-friendly hydrogen logistics center.'

SK E&S and Plug Power (hereafter Plug)'s hydrogen business joint venture, SK Plug Hybus, announced on the 1st that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Coupang Fulfillment Service and Kendal Square Asset Management to promote the construction and operation of an eco-friendly hydrogen logistics center.

This agreement involves introducing hydrogen forklifts and establishing infrastructure such as hydrogen charging stations at Coupang Mokcheon Logistics Center located in Cheonan, Chungnam, to collaborate on building the 'nation's first eco-friendly hydrogen logistics center.'

Coupang Fulfillment Service is the logistics subsidiary of Coupang, a leading e-commerce company in Korea. Coupang has secured over 100 logistics infrastructures across more than 30 regions nationwide, while Kendal Square is a domestic logistics-focused investment and development platform company currently operating 42 logistics centers.

The Coupang Mokcheon Logistics Center, where the project will be implemented, covers an area of 148,000㎡ (approximately 45,000 pyeong) and is owned by Kendal Square and leased to Coupang for operation.

Initially, Coupang plans to convert some of the battery-powered electric forklifts currently operating at Mokcheon Logistics Center to hydrogen forklifts for pilot operation starting in the second half of next year. SK Plug Hybus will supply hydrogen forklifts and undertake the construction of hydrogen charging stations as well as supply hydrogen fuel, including blue and green hydrogen. Kendal Square will cooperate by providing land for hydrogen charging station construction and securing permits.

In the future, plans are being considered to expand the 'eco-friendly hydrogen logistics center' model to other logistics centers operated by Coupang and Kendal Square.

This MOU is significant as it represents a collaboration between SK E&S, a leading domestic hydrogen industry company, and Coupang, a representative e-commerce company, to enhance eco-friendliness in the logistics industry.

Recently, the logistics industry has also been embracing eco-friendly trends to reduce carbon emissions. For example, forklifts, essential transportation equipment within logistics centers, have been criticized for environmental pollution issues such as noise and exhaust emissions due to their diesel fuel usage. Although there has been an increase in the transition to battery-powered electric forklifts, limitations remain due to relatively short operating times and long charging times of up to six hours.

Hydrogen forklifts can operate for eight hours on a single charge and can be quickly recharged within approximately 3 to 5 minutes, significantly improving work efficiency and productivity. Additionally, hydrogen fuel cells not only emit no greenhouse gases but also have an air purification function that absorbs and removes fine dust from the air, helping maintain a pleasant working environment in logistics centers.

In particular, SK Plug Hybus boasts differentiated competitiveness in the hydrogen logistics center construction business based on Plug's fuel cell technology, which holds a 95% market share in the U.S. hydrogen forklift market, according to SK E&S. Plug is the global No. 1 company supplying over 60,000 hydrogen forklift fuel cell power packs to U.S. and European distribution and logistics companies such as Amazon, Walmart, and Home Depot. Plug's hydrogen fuel cell system, GenDrive, is an integrated package that can be simply installed in the battery compartment of existing battery-powered electric forklifts and is applicable to more than 100 electric forklift models worldwide.

Currently, SK Plug Hybus plans to establish a hydrogen equipment production and research base called the 'Giga-factory' in the Incheon area by the end of 2023 to domestically produce hydrogen fuel cell products and is also cooperating with major forklift manufacturers such as Doosan Bobcat and Clark.

Lee Ji-young, Vice President of SK E&S Hydrogen Global Group and CEO of SK Plug Hybus, said, "This MOU is meaningful as it lays the foundation for the country's first 'eco-friendly hydrogen logistics center.'" She added, "SK E&S will contribute to accelerating the establishment of the hydrogen ecosystem by providing integrated hydrogen solutions from hydrogen production to charging infrastructure construction and supply of fuel cells for vehicles and power generation."

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