Plan is to begin commercial operations at the Incheon liquified hydrogen plant this year and to set up a mass production system for fuel cells and electrolyzers by next year.
SK E&S, a leading energy and solutions company, and Plug Power, a global hydrogen energy firm, have recently announced their plans to deepen their partnership in order to accelerate the development of a hydrogen ecosystem. The CEOs of the two companies, Choo Hyung-wook of SK E&S and Andy Marsh of Plug Power, met at the CES 2023 conference held in Las Vegas, where they discussed ways to expand their cooperation in the hydrogen business, specifically, by exploring the potential of Plug Power’s main business, the Plug Hyverse.
The two companies had formed a joint venture called Hibus in January 2022, and have been collaborating to explore hydrogen business opportunities in the Asian market. They now plan to take their partnership to the next level by launching a full-scale hydrogen business cooperation, starting with the establishment of a liquid hydrogen filling station.
SK E&S will begin commercial operations of a liquefied hydrogen plant in Incheon, with an annual capacity of up to 30,000 tons. Hibus, the joint venture, plans to supply liquid hydrogen produced by SK E&S by building liquid hydrogen filling stations in strategic locations. Additionally, the construction of the Incheon ‘Giga-factory’ project, a production base for hydrogen core facilities, will be promoted without any hindrance. Hibus aims to supply products to the domestic and Asian markets by establishing a mass production system for hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzer facilities from next year.
CEO Choo Hyung-wook said, “Our partnership with Plug Power, which has the world’s best hydrogen technology, will significantly enhance the global competitiveness of the domestic hydrogen industry.” CEO Andy Marsh commented, “With SK Group’s energy business capabilities and global network, the two companies will be able to successfully enter the Asian hydrogen fuel cell market beyond Korea.” As part of the partnership, SK E&S invested around 1.8 trillion won in Plug Power, along with SK Holdings early in 2021, making SK E&S the largest shareholder in Plug Power.
“With SK Group’s energy business expertise and global reach, we are confident that our partnership will enable us to successfully expand into the Asian hydrogen fuel cell market beyond Korea,” stated CEO Andy Marsh.
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