Hydrogen Production from Renewable Energy: 'PEM Water Electrolysis' Technology
SK E&S and the US-based Plug Power join forces with Korea Water Resources Corporation to advance domestic and international clean hydrogen projects and the localization of water electrolysis equipment.
On the 3rd (local time), SK E&S announced on the 7th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the "Expansion and Industrial Activation of Green Hydrogen" with Korea Water Resources Corporation, Plug Power, and SK Plug Hyverse at Plug Power's Vista plant located in Albany County, New York, USA.
On the 3rd (local time), attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony of the "MOU for the Expansion and Industrial Activation of Green Hydrogen" held at the Plug Power Vista factory in New York, USA. From left: Yesub Kim, Team Leader of Hydrogen Global Group at SK E&S; Keith Schmid, Vice President of Plug Power; Byunghoon Jang, Head of Water Environment Division at Korea Water Resources Corporation; Hwangkyun Lee, CEO of SK Plug Hyverse. (Photo by SK E&S)
They agreed to strengthen their partnership to lead the green hydrogen era by leveraging their capabilities. They will cooperate on all aspects of business to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic green hydrogen industry, including establishing and securing operational technology for national green hydrogen production facilities, expanding domestic and overseas green hydrogen projects, and discovering new businesses. Green hydrogen refers to hydrogen produced using electricity generated from renewable energy.
SK E&S and Plug Power’s joint venture, SK Plug Hyverse, will supply and maintain polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis equipment for domestic and international green hydrogen projects. Korea Water Resources Corporation will jointly research and develop operational technology for green hydrogen production facilities and explore future additional business cooperation and joint entry into overseas markets.
They will also collaborate to localize PEM water electrolysis technology, a core technology for green hydrogen production. SK Plug Hyverse will manufacture PEM water electrolysis equipment domestically, while Korea Water Resources Corporation will provide necessary business and technical support for localization and promote the development of domestic green hydrogen companies in the water industry sector.
Water electrolysis equipment is a device that produces hydrogen by electrolyzing water and is a key facility for creating a renewable energy-based hydrogen ecosystem. The PEM water electrolysis equipment supplied and localized by SK Plug Hyverse has advantages over alkaline water electrolysis equipment, such as shorter startup time and superior load response capability. It is also compact and has lower maintenance costs.
In particular, it is evaluated to enable stable facility operation even when power supply is inconsistent, thus compensating for the intermittency of renewable energy power.
SK Plug Hyverse plans to establish a ‘Giga Factory’ in Korea to mass-produce PEM water electrolysis equipment. It is actively working to expand domestic green hydrogen projects using PEM water electrolysis technology, including participation in 3.3MW and 12.5MW scale water electrolysis demonstration projects currently underway in Jeju Island.
Korea Water Resources Corporation is promoting various hydropower projects based on water resources and plans to lead the domestic green hydrogen industry by utilizing the renewable energy produced through these projects.
Lee Ji-young, Head of the Hydrogen Global Group at SK E&S, said, "Through cooperation on the localization of PEM water electrolysis technology, we can contribute not only to reducing carbon emissions but also to securing the global competitiveness of Korea’s clean energy new industries." She added, "We will explore various cooperation opportunities to expand the clean hydrogen industry ecosystem and lead the carbon-neutral era."
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