Hyundai Rotem begins full-scale production with the operation of the hydrogen extractor plant.
Hyundai Rotem announced on December 14th that it recently completed the construction of a hydrogen extractor plant, a device that extracts hydrogen from natural gas, and will start operating in earnest from this month.
In preparation for the increasing volume of hydrogen refueling stations in Korea, Hyundai Rotem began construction of a one-story factory in the Uiwang Research Center last July by remodeling some of the existing electronics parts factory with an area of 2000m2 (about 600 pyeong). Finished.
Hyundai Rotem expects that the operation of the plant will create new jobs and induce production of more than KRW 50 billion per year. In addition, it is possible to cooperate with hydrogen extractor parts manufacturers near the metropolitan area to create an ecosystem for manufacturing hydrogen charging infrastructure.
The plant completed this time can produce 20 hydrogen extractors per year. The amount of hydrogen produced by 20 hydrogen extractors is about 4,700 tons per year, which is a scale that can fill about 850,000 hydrogen cars (based on Nexo). Hyundai Rotem plans to further expand the plant size according to the number of orders for hydrogen extractors in the future.
In May, Hyundai Rotem received orders for three hydrogen extractors in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do and Samcheok, Gangwon-do in May. The Dangjin Hydrogen Shipping Center, which will be built on a site of about 144,000m2, is scheduled to be completed in the first half of next year, with Hyundai Rotem in charge of all construction processes from civil engineering to purchase, design, and commissioning.
In addition, in November, a total of 12 organizations, including Hyundai Rotem, Incheon Metropolitan City, Incheon Techno Park, and Hyundai Motors, signed a’Memorandum of Understanding for Fostering and Development of Incheon Hydrogen Industry’, and to establish an Incheon-type hydrogen economy platform. I decided to cooperate.
With the construction of a hydrogen extractor plant in Uiwang, Hyundai Rotem plans to participate in a bidding for hydrogen extractors and hydrogen charging infrastructure projects ordered by local governments and private sectors worth about KRW 250 billion next year.
Hydrogen extractors produced at the plant will be supplied to Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do and Samcheok, Gangwon-do by 2021. In particular, the hydrogen extractor produced this time is a product to which a large number of localization technologies are applied, and the localization rate reaches 80%. Hyundai Rotem plans to gradually increase its localization rate and complete the localization of all parts excluding catalysts, which are consumable materials, by March next year.
When localization is completed, it is possible to reduce costs by more than 15% compared to foreign products, and continuous maintenance through stable supply is possible, enabling high competitiveness in the hydrogen charging infrastructure market.
Earlier, Hyundai Rotem completed the localization of core parts of hydrogen extractors such as heat exchangers and compressors in cooperation with 35 domestic partners. Through this, it is also creating 1,500 domestic jobs.
Hyundai Rotem’s strategy is to reinforce domestic and overseas hydrogen charging infrastructure business by producing key facilities necessary for charging station construction, such as a hydrogen extractor as well as a dispenser that injects hydrogen into vehicles.
An official from Hyundai Rotem said, “Through the operation of this plant, we are able to increase our business competitiveness in the domestic and overseas hydrogen-charging infrastructure market.” It will contribute to the development of the related industrial ecosystem.”
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