On April 25 (local time), SK E&S, a South Korean energy company, announced a joint venture plan with Plug Power, an American hydrogen company, to invest a total of 1 trillion won in the domestic hydrogen industry.
The announcement was made during President Yoon Seok-yeol's state visit to the United States. The investment reporting ceremony was held to showcase the companies' commitment to the development of the hydrogen industry.
The joint venture, named SK Plug Hyverse, was established last year, and the companies will invest a total of 1 trillion won into the Korean hydrogen industry. SK E&S will pay 510 billion won, and Plug Power will pay 4,900 won, depending on the stake. The investment will be used to build a hydrogen technology research and development (R&D) center and a giga factory in Korea.
The giga factory is a hydrogen core facility production base that aims to mass-produce hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles and power generation, as well as water electrolysis facilities. The plan is to mass-produce these products starting from 2025 and supply them to the domestic and Asian markets.
The core technology of Plug Power is applied to hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysis facilities. The company expects that localization of advanced hydrogen technology will be possible with this joint venture. The hydrogen fuel cells produced at the giga factory will be used in the clean hydrogen power generation project, which will be produced from 2026 at SK E&S' Boryeong Blue Hydrogen Production Base.
In addition, SK Plug Hyverse will also invest in building and operating liquefied hydrogen charging stations in Korea to support the spread of hydrogen mobility. The plan is to build liquefied hydrogen charging stations in major regions. SK E&S will produce 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen annually at the Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant from the end of this year and supply an additional 50,000 tons a year from the Boryeong blue hydrogen production base from 2026.
“We will do our best to promote the construction of a blue hydrogen production base in Boryeong using advanced technology to create a clean hydrogen ecosystem in Korea at an early stage so that Korea can become the center of the global hydrogen industry,” said Choo Hyeong-wook, CEO of SK E&S.
