Beomhan Fuel Cell, World's 2nd Submarine Fuel Cell... "400 Billion KRW Sales by 2030 with Hydrogen"

Price Increase Compared to IPO Price on First Trading Day
Benefiting from Fuel Cell Market Growth with Advanced Technology

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Beomhan Fuel Cell is showing strength compared to the opening price on its first day listed on the KOSDAQ market.

At 9:27 a.m. on the 17th, Beomhan Fuel Cell was trading at 46,950 KRW, up 14.51% from the opening price.

Beomhan Fuel Cell started trading at 41,000 KRW, 2.5% higher than the public offering price of 40,000 KRW.

Beomhan Fuel Cell is a company specialized in technologies for fuel cells for submarines, hydrogen charging stations, and building fuel cells. It was established at the end of 2019 through a spin-off of the hydrogen fuel cell division of Beomhan Industry. As of the first quarter of this year, its sales amounted to 8.5 billion KRW, with 6.8 billion KRW from the fuel cell segment and 1.7 billion KRW from the hydrogen charging station segment.

Beomhan Fuel Cell possesses polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology for mobility applications. PEMFC is a low-temperature type among various fuel cell types, suitable for miniaturization and offering high responsiveness, making it ideal for mobility purposes.

Jung Young-sik, CEO of Beomhan Fuel Cell, said at a pre-listing press conference, "We aim to achieve sales of 400 billion KRW by 2030 through the expansion of the entire hydrogen mobility cycle."

He added, "Beomhan Fuel Cell can produce fuel cells that are impact-resistant, high-power and high-density, and strong against water, explosion, and dust. Mobility fuel cells must operate stably in various environments, and since Beomhan Fuel Cell has experience making submarine fuel cells suitable for such conditions, it meets all the requirements for mobility."

Beomhan Fuel Cell plans to target the large mobility market such as hydrogen ships and hydrogen buses. The company is particularly focusing on supplying fuel cells for ships. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the proportion of zero-carbon ships is expected to increase by 2050 due to the enforcement of carbon reduction regulations. The submarine fuel cells were developed and commercialized as the second in the world after Germany's Siemens and are exclusively supplied domestically.

CEO Jung said, "The proportion of zero-carbon ships is only 2.4% by 2030 but is expected to increase to 79.5% by 2050. Currently, marine fuel cells are expanding through submarines, but from 2025 to 2030, the supply of zero-carbon ships such as bulk carriers and container ships will expand."

Na Seung-doo, a researcher at SK Securities, analyzed, "Since they possess fuel cell technology applied to submarines, they have PEMFC technology capable of higher output than fuel cells used in typical hydrogen vehicles. This technology can be expanded to various mobility such as ships."

Park Jong-sun, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, said, "The public offering price is discounted at an EV/EBITDA ratio of 19.1 to 25.6 times over three years compared to peers. This is a 28.1% discount compared to the average EV/EBITDA of 35.6 times for domestic similar companies such as S-Fuel Cell, Sang-A Frontec, Vinatek, and JNK Heater as of 2021."

He added, "After listing, the freely tradable shares account for 35.8% (3.14 million shares) of the total shares, which is not a large amount."