Hanyang, Linde to inject $800 mn for hydrogen cluster in Korea

Hanyang Corporation Ltd., a South Korean construction firm, will join forces with German industrial gases and engineering company Linde AG to create a cluster to produce blue hydrogen with an $800 million investment by 2030.

The two firms and the government of South Jeolla Province have signed an agreement for the project to be conducted in Yeosu, a port city on the southern coast of Korea, Hanyang said on Thursday.

Blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas, is low-cabon fuel and thus environmentally friendly. Linde's industrial gases and technologies are used in production of hydrogen and carbon capture systems for energy transition, medical oxygen and specialty gases.

Hanyang and Linde will build a factory that produces 80,000 tons of hydrogen per year, a hydrogen-fueled combined heat and power plant and facilities for carbon capture, liquefaction and storage on Myodo Island, Gwangyang Port in South Jeolla Province.

Hanyang is aiming to set up a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and power generation facilities on the site with 3.1 million square meters in Myodo by 2029. In phase 1 of the project, the construction firm will introduce four LNG storage tanks in the terminal, which will be used to transport the gas throughout Northeast Asia.

The Korean firm is slated to diversify its business portfolios, which have been focused on housing projects, with renewables, hydrogen and LNG to transform itself as an energy company.

South Jeolla Province will develop Yeosu Gwangyang Port as a hydrogen supply center and establish green hydrogen energy research, development and production complex in long term.

Write to Jin-Woo Park at jwp@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.