Korea-based SK Group will invest about 18 trillion won (US$16.4 billion) over the next five years to create a domestic hydrogen ecosystem—production, distribution, and consumption—through creation of domestic hydrogen infrastructure and also through partnerships with global companies.

In the first phase, SK E&S, SK Group’s hydrogen business promotion company, will invest about 500 billion won (US$446 million) to build a liquefied hydrogen (LH2) production plant with a production capacity of 30,000 tonnes of liquefied hydrogen. For this purpose, SK will use a site in the SK Incheon Petrochemical Complex in Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon.

The LH2 plant will take byproduct gaseous hydrogen supplied from SK Incheon Petrochemical, purify it, process it into a liquid, and supply it to the metropolitan Incheon area. The first phase project is thus also one of the pillars of the Incheon city hydrogen cluster construction project. It is expected to become an important foundation for the expansion of hydrogen infrastructure at Incheon International Airport, Incheon Port, and industrial complexes.

In the second phase, SK will invest 5.3 trillion won (US$4.7 billion) by 2025 in a hydrogen production plant. The plant will produce 250,000 tons of hydrogen from liquefied natural gas while removing 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide through carbon capture and treatment technology.

Combined with the Phase 1 project, SK plans to produce and supply a total of 280,000 tons of eco-friendly hydrogen annually in Korea, and use these business experiences and capabilities to fully promote hydrogen business in Asia, including China and Vietnam.

In addition to supplying liquefied hydrogen, SK plans to make active investments in establishing a distribution system for eco-friendly hydrogen.

SK will operate 100 hydrogen charging stations nationwide by 2025 to supply 80,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen per year.

As part of this, SK is also discussing ways to cooperate in various fields to energize the hydrogen economy, such as establishing a liquefied hydrogen fueling station, expanding the introduction of hydrogen vehicles, and building a hydrogen experience center.