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SK E&S finally begins full-scale operation of ‘world’s largest’ liquefied hydrogen plant



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SK E&S finally begins full-scale operation of ‘world’s largest’ liquefied hydrogen plant

Signaling the opening of Korea's hydrogen mobility era... Stable supply of 30,000 tons/year
Plans to build 40 liquefied hydrogen charging stations across the country, 20 planned this year
President Choo Hyung-wook "This year is the first year of the liquefied hydrogen era, efforts to create a hydrogen ecosystem."
Reporter name Reporter Joo Byeong-guk 2024.05.08

[Gas News = Reporter Joo Byeong-guk] SK E&S completed construction of the world's largest liquefied hydrogen plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons in Incheon, announcing the beginning of the 'hydrogen mobility era'.

As large-scale supply of liquefied hydrogen becomes possible in Korea, the supply of hydrogen buses is expected to accelerate.

SK E&S held the Incheon Liquefied Hydrogen Plant completion ceremony at IGI Co., Ltd. in Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon on the 8th. IGI is a subsidiary established by SK E&S in 2021 to promote the liquefied hydrogen business.

At the completion ceremony on this day, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Deok-geun, National Assembly Trade, Industry and Energy Small and Medium Venture Business Committee Chairman Lee Jae-jung, Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, KDB Chairman Kang Seok-hoon, SK CEO Jang Yong-ho, Export-Import Bank President Yoon Hee-sung, IBK Industrial Bank President Kim Seong-tae and Park Gyeong-guk of Korea President of Korea Gas Safety Corporation, Hyeong-wook Choo, CEO of SK E&S, and others attended.

Building the 'world's largest' liquefied hydrogen plant in Incheon

The Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant is a facility that produces liquefied hydrogen by purifying gaseous by-product hydrogen generated within the process of nearby SK Incheon Petrochemical into high-purity hydrogen and then cooling it. It is equipped with three 30-ton-per-day liquefaction facilities and six 20-ton-class storage facilities as its main facilities, and is capable of producing about 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen per year, the world's largest on a single plant basis. 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen is enough to operate about 5,000 hydrogen buses for one year.

Liquefied hydrogen is hydrogen made in liquid form by cooling hydrogen that exists in gaseous form at room temperature to a cryogenic temperature of -253 degrees Celsius. Compared to gaseous hydrogen, the volume is 1/800th and the transport volume per time is about 10 times that of gaseous hydrogen, making it advantageous for large-capacity storage and transport. It is also highly safe as it can be transported at low pressure. In addition, it has strengths such as fast charging speed and short charging waiting time, so it is called a 'game changer' that will lead the conversion of commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks to hydrogen vehicles. For this reason, the hydrogen industry has matured in overseas countries such as the United States and Japan, focusing on liquefied hydrogen.

The Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant , a result of public-private cooperation in 'vitalizing the hydrogen economy based on liquefied hydrogen,'

is the first visible result of SK E&S's plan to build a hydrogen ecosystem. Since first announcing its plan to build a liquefied hydrogen plant in Incheon at the 3rd Hydrogen Economy Committee chaired by the Prime Minister in March 2021, SK Group has begun work on creating a hydrogen ecosystem centered on SK E&S. At the time, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said, “SK will fulfill its corporate responsibility to realize carbon neutrality by 2050 by taking the lead in creating a hydrogen ecosystem in Korea.”

In the project implementation process, ‘public-private cooperation’ shone. Until now, there had been no cases of use of liquefied hydrogen in Korea, so there were no safety and technical standards within the current law, and 2 to 3 years were needed just to enact new laws. Although delay in the project seemed inevitable, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy supported the project through the 'regulatory sandbox' system that supports the creation of new industries using innovative technologies. The Ministry of Environment also supported the construction of liquefied hydrogen charging stations, which are key infrastructure for distributing liquefied hydrogen, through the 'Private Capital Subsidy Project for Installing Hydrogen Charging Stations'.

Incheon City and Incheon Seo-gu Office also actively cooperated by leading to consultations with relevant ministries on the necessary licensing procedures for timely completion of the Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant. Incheon City, which has promoted the vision of becoming a 'hydrogen leading city' with the completion of the liquefied hydrogen plant, is expected to gain more momentum in the policy of converting city, metropolitan, and charter buses to hydrogen buses in the future.

Establishing a stable hydrogen supply base... With the completion of the Incheon Liquefied Hydrogen Plant , a 'signal' for the spread of hydrogen buses,
large-scale production of liquefied hydrogen becomes possible, and it is expected that issues of instability in hydrogen supply and demand, such as the recent 'hydrogen charging crisis', will be resolved. In addition, it is expected to lay the foundation for Korea to leap forward as a 'leading hydrogen economy'.

SK E&S plans to contribute to creating a full-cycle hydrogen mobility ecosystem by promoting not only large-scale liquefied hydrogen production but also liquefied hydrogen charging projects. To this end, SK E&S is pursuing the construction of about 40 liquefied hydrogen charging stations across the country, centered on its subsidiary 'SK Plug Hyverse'. Liquid hydrogen produced in Incheon will be stably supplied to each consumer through charging stations to be installed across the country, including Busan, Cheongju, and Icheon. The goal is to start operating about 20 liquefied hydrogen charging stations this year.

An official from SK E&S said, “By converting public transportation to hydrogen vehicles, which is the foot of citizens, we will contribute to reducing greenhouse gases in the transportation sector, and at the same time, it will be an opportunity for the ‘era of tangible hydrogen public transportation’ to begin in earnest in people’s daily lives.” .

Three liquefied hydrogen producers sign supply and demand cooperation.
With the completion ceremony on this day, the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority, an organization dedicated to hydrogen distribution, and three domestic liquefied hydrogen producers, including IGI, Hyosung Hydrogen, and Hi Changwon, signed a business agreement to establish a liquefied hydrogen supply and demand cooperation system. ' was also signed. They plan to cooperate in future liquefied hydrogen volume exchanges and stock exchanges to ensure that there are no disruptions in the stable supply and demand of liquefied hydrogen.

SK E&S President Choo Hyeong-wook said, “The Incheon Liquid Hydrogen Plant completion ceremony is the first starting point to turn SK E&S’ dream of the hydrogen era into reality, and this year will be remembered as the first year of the ‘liquefied hydrogen era’ that will change the flow of Korea’s energy industry history. “We will strive to contribute to creating a stable hydrogen supply and demand ecosystem by carrying out the plan to operate the Incheon liquefied hydrogen plant and build liquefied hydrogen charging infrastructure without a hitch,” he said.

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