Deal signed for new hydrogen industry cluster in South Korea

South Korean province Jeollanam-do has signed an investment memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth KRW 3.92 trillion ($2.905 billion) with five companies to create a hydrogen industry cluster in Myodo, Yeosu.

The cluster will consist of hydrogen production and storage, transportation, carbon dioxide capture and disposal, as well as heat and electricity production using clean hydrogen to create a full-cycle hydrogen ecosystem in the province.

According to ECOLOG, one of the companies involved in the project, Northeast Asia LNG Hub Terminal will build a new LNG import terminal and supply facility to regasify the LNG and provide it to demanding companies. Linde Korea, together with Hanyang Corporation, will build a plant to produce blue hydrogen using LNG, and adjacent to this will be the Hanyang-ECOLOG CO2 Liquefaction Terminal enabling the facilitating liquid CO2 carriers moving CO2 to “secure and competitively priced” sequestration sites in the Asia Pacific region.

The clean hydrogen produced will be used in the Myodo CHP and CCGT for LNG/hydrogen blended power generation, as well as in Myodo fuel cell plant for hydrogen fuel cell power generation to generate heat and electricity, ECOLOG added, noting that this will create a core ecosystem for hydrogen production, storage, transportation and utilization in Myodo.

ECOLOG also pointed out that Jeollannam-do is expected to take a step ahead in the field of green hydrogen production by utilizing renewable energy resources in the province, as the agreement will establish a full-cycle infrastructure for the hydrogen industry and will also give momentum to the construction of a hydrogen pipeline network in Yeosu and Gwangyang and the creation of a hydrogen city in Gwangyang.

To ensure the success of the cluster, the province plans to build a hydrogen convergence platform in the Gwangyang Bay area and establish a cooperation system with universities, companies and research institutes in the province to support technology development and foster research and technical manpower, ECOLOG revealed, adding that the government plans to designate Myodo as an Opportunity Development Zone to provide tax support and regulatory special measures.

Governor Kim Young-rok commented: “We have high expectations for this investment agreement, which will create a full-cycle ecosystem for the hydrogen industry in Jeollanam-do and provide an opportunity to leap forward as an industrial centre. We will do our best to support the Gwangyang Bay area by building infrastructure so that it can become a hydrogen industry hub.”

To note, it was announced today that the classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) awarded ECOLOG an industry-first ISM Document of Compliance for the operation of liquified CO2 carriers on behalf of the Bermuda flag administration. ECOLOG plans to build and own CO2 terminals and a carrier fleet to service the emerging CCUS sector, connecting hard-to-abate emitters with cost-competitive sequestration sites and carbon utilization facilities.