SK E&S, K-water to jointly develop homegrown green hydrogen facilities

South Korea's SK E&S announced on Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Plug Power, K-water, and SK Plug Hyverse to expand the distribution of green hydrogen and invigorate the industry.

Through this agreement signed on Nov. 3, the four companies will collaborate on five businesses: establishing and operating national green hydrogen production facilities, acquiring operational technology, expanding domestic and overseas green hydrogen businesses, and exploring new ventures.

SK Plug Hyverse, a joint venture between SK E&S and Plug Power, will supply and maintain polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis facilities for domestic and international green hydrogen projects.

SK E&S also plans to jointly research and develop operating technologies for green hydrogen production facilities with Korea Water Resources Corporation and explore future business cooperation and joint entry into overseas markets.

Furthermore, they have agreed to join forces to localize PEM electrolysis technology, which is a key technology for green hydrogen production.

Electrolysis facilities are devices that produce hydrogen by electrolyzing water and are essential for the spread of green hydrogen based on renewable energy.

SK Plug Hyverse will produce PEM electrolysis facilities domestically, while K-water will push for business and technical support necessary for localization.

SK Plug Hyverse plans to build a Gigafactory in Korea to mass-produce PEM electrolysis facilities based on the technological capabilities of Plug Power, which has been supplying and operating PEM electrolysis facilities worldwide.

The company is participating as well in the 3.3 MW and 12.5 MW water electrolysis demonstration projects currently underway in Jeju Island and is committed to expanding the domestic green hydrogen business by utilizing PEM electrolysis technology.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com