Choo Hyung-wook, President of SK E&S, "Fuel Cells Are the Rice of the Hydrogen Industry... Policy Support Is Essential"

'H2 MEET 2022' Special Talk Show... 18.5 Trillion KRW Investment in Hydrogen Sector
Building the World's Largest Blue Hydrogen Production Base by 2025 Target

Chu Hyung-wook, CEO of SK E&S, emphasized the importance of hydrogen fuel cells during the talk show "Fuel Cells Opening the Future of the Hydrogen Economy" held at the 'H2 MEET 2022' event at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 1st. Photo by SK E&S

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] Chu Hyung-wook, CEO of SK E&S, who participated in ‘H2 MEET 2022,’ the largest hydrogen industry international exhibition in Korea, emphasized that to achieve carbon neutrality, the fuel cell industry, known as the ‘rice of the hydrogen industry,’ must be actively fostered.

On the 1st, at the SK E&S exhibition hall in KINTEX, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Chu Hyung-wook spoke at a special talk show titled “Fuel Cells Opening the Hydrogen Economy and Future,” stating, “For a clean hydrogen-centered hydrogen economy to be established early, securing hydrogen utilization technology and expanding demand sources are crucial.” He added, “The government has set the hydrogen consumption target at 3.9 million tons by 2030, and to achieve this, a hydrogen market of 1.5 million tons is needed by 2025.”

As an answer to expanding the hydrogen market and fostering future growth industries, Chu pointed to ‘hydrogen fuel cells.’ This is because they are expected to play a core role, like the ‘rice of the hydrogen industry,’ covering power plants and mobility sectors including automobiles. Chu said, “Fuel cells are zero-carbon power sources that can generate electricity using only hydrogen, providing a practical solution for energy transition in the domestic power market, which currently depends on fossil fuels.”

Chu also mentioned the potential of hydrogen in the mobility sector. “Fuel cells have high growth potential as a technology applicable to future mobility such as eco-friendly buses, trucks, drones, ships, and aircraft. Developing this as a future growth engine will have a positive effect on expanding domestic industrial competitiveness,” he emphasized.

Chu stated, “In the energy transition process, fostering the hydrogen industry as a national new growth industry and securing global competitiveness requires bold government support policies that promote corporate investment.” He also called for innovative government support policies, mentioning the need for ▲support to achieve economies of scale through expansion of the hydrogen power generation market ▲establishment of a foundation for future new industries based on large-scale fuel cells ▲introduction of a certification system within the year to accelerate the spread of clean hydrogen.

SK E&S, together with its business partners, is investing 18.5 trillion KRW in the hydrogen sector to turn the ‘dream of the hydrogen era’ for carbon neutrality into reality. Currently, they are constructing a liquefied hydrogen plant in Incheon with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons, scheduled to begin production by the end of 2023, and plan to accelerate the distribution of eco-friendly hydrogen buses to contribute to carbon reduction in the transportation sector. By 2025, they aim to establish the world’s largest blue hydrogen production base and hydrogen fuel cell power generation facilities in Boryeong, Chungnam, utilizing CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) technology to fully launch the clean hydrogen era.

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