[Upcoming Hydrogen Economy] Company That Made Zinc to Produce Hydrogen from Clean Energy in Australia

Establishing an Energy Hub in North Queensland
Green Hydrogen Production Linked to Solar Power Plant

In Australia, blessed with pristine natural environments, the vision of producing hydrogen by electrolyzing water using electricity generated from solar power and converting it into ammonia to be imported into Korea is gradually becoming a reality. This is a renewable energy-linked hydrogen project envisioned by Korea Zinc, which has been exporting non-metallic metals such as zinc. Korea Zinc plans to establish an international supply chain transporting over 1 million tons of green ammonia by 2030.

Korea Zinc's hydrogen business starts in Queensland, Australia. Its local subsidiary, Arc Energy, plans to develop the Collinsville Green Energy Hub, a 190,000㎡ facility in North Queensland with a maximum power generation capacity of 3,000 MW.

Korea Zinc, on July 13, signed the main contract (HoA) for the Korea-Australia consortium formed with its Australian subsidiary Arc Energy, Hanwha Impact, and SK Gas. From left to right: Scott Stewart, Queensland Minister for Resources, Australia; Daniel Kim, CEO of Arc Energy; Anastasia Palaszczuk, Premier of Queensland, Australia; Jonghwa Lee, Executive Director of Hanwha Impact; Younggil Cheon, Director of Energy Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Kideok Park, President of Korea Zinc; Alexandra Sidell, Charg? d'Affaires of the Australian Embassy in Korea; Seongmo Lee, Vice President of SK Gas.

At this site, power generation facilities and large-scale hydrogen and ammonia production plants will be constructed to begin hydrogen production. This will serve as an international green hydrogen supply chain. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced by electrolyzing water using electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. It is environmentally friendly as it emits no carbon during production.

Korea Zinc has formalized its entry into the green energy sector by forming a consortium with Arc Energy, Hanwha Impact, and SK Gas. In particular, the strong relationship between Korea Zinc and Australia has been beneficial in this process. Since establishing the Sunmetal zinc smelter in Queensland in 1996, Korea Zinc has invested over 3 billion Australian dollars (approximately 2.5 trillion KRW) to date.

Due to the energy-intensive nature of the smelting industry, Korea Zinc has long been interested in renewable energy. In 2018, it commissioned a 125 MW solar power plant, then the largest in Australia, on the SMC smelter site, marking the start of its renewable energy business. Currently, 25% of the annual power demand of the SMC smelter is supplied through solar power. By 2025, it plans to secure additional capacity from the McIntyre wind power plant.

Australia is also highly optimistic about this project. Anastasia Palaszczuk, Premier of Queensland, personally congratulated the consortium's launch, stating, "We have great expectations as this project aims to establish a new green energy export corridor connecting North Queensland and Northeast Asia, promote regional community prosperity, and support the decarbonization efforts of Korea and Australia."

Korea Zinc is also investing in the development of hydrogen-ammonia conversion technology for efficient hydrogen transportation. In March, it invested 30 million USD (approximately 39 billion KRW) in the US startup Amogy and formed a strategic alliance. Amogy has successfully operated tractors and trucks powered by ammonia fuel cell systems. By adding maritime transport, it plans to develop and produce products that enable ammonia to be used as a power source across all transportation sectors.

Through its partnership with Amogy, Korea Zinc aims to supply liquefied ammonia produced in Australia to Korea via maritime transport, establishing itself as a domestic green hydrogen and ammonia seller.

This transformation of Korea Zinc is the bold move of Chairman Choi Yoon-beom, born in 1975. Since assuming the chairmanship in December last year, Chairman Choi has been expanding the company's business areas from non-metal smelting to renewable energy, hydrogen, resource circulation, and secondary battery materials. This so-called 'Troika Drive' is driving business expansion and the full-scale launch of third-generation management.

Chairman Choi officially reaffirmed his commitment to the hydrogen business by attending the second general meeting of the 'Korea H2 Business Summit' held in June. Additionally, at a town hall meeting with employees on the 24th of last month, he stated, "We see potential in the large-scale renewable energy power generation facilities under construction in Australia and the plants producing green hydrogen and ammonia."

Choi Yoon-beom, Chairman of Korea Zinc, is speaking at the 2nd General Meeting of the Korea H2 Business Summit held on June 14.