POSCO International Enters Clean Hydrogen Business with UAE National Oil Company

POSCO Group is entering the clean hydrogen business by partnering with ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On the 30th, POSCO International (POSCO Inter), POSCO Holdings, and ADNOC signed a "Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) for Joint Investigation of Clean Hydrogen Production Business" at ADNOC headquarters located in Abu Dhabi.

According to this agreement, the three companies will jointly promote ▲ blue hydrogen production and supply using LNG ▲ carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects arising from hydrogen production.

POSCO International signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) for a joint investigation into clean hydrogen production projects with POSCO Holdings and ADNOC at ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi on the 30th. (From left) I Jeonhyeok, Head of Energy Division at POSCO International; Musabe Al Kabi, Head of Low Carbon International Growth at ADNOC; Jo Juik, Head of Hydrogen Business Team at POSCO Holdings. Photo by POSCO International

The project site is POSCO Inter’s Gwangyang LNG Terminal. POSCO Group will establish blue hydrogen production infrastructure linked to the Gwangyang LNG Terminal. The produced hydrogen will be supplied from 2029 to nearby demand centers including Gwangyang Steelworks, Hadong, and Yeosu.

Additionally, POSCO Group plans to link this with the CCS business. Capturing carbon generated during production is essential to reduce carbon emissions and have blue hydrogen recognized as clean hydrogen. ADNOC is regarded as a leader in the CCS field. The three companies plan to start a joint investigation this year to assess business feasibility, including building clean hydrogen production facilities in Gwangyang and calculating the scale of carbon dioxide capture and liquefaction terminals.

A POSCO Inter official explained that this project is significant as it marks the "official first step of POSCO Inter’s domestic clean hydrogen supply business." Starting with this project, POSCO Group will also focus on transitioning to low-carbon industrial processes and building clean hydrogen infrastructure for hydrogen co-firing power generation. Last year, POSCO Group announced a plan to establish a supply system for 1.26 million tons of clean hydrogen by 2035. The group aims to supply 540,000 tons in Gwangyang, 360,000 tons in Incheon, and 360,000 tons in Pohang.

Lee Jeon-hyeok, Head of POSCO Inter’s Energy Division, said, "Gwangyang is a key hub for the group with POSCO Inter’s LNG terminal, which will be used as clean hydrogen production infrastructure in the future. Through this project, we will contribute to the development of the national hydrogen industry by stably supplying clean hydrogen not only to Gwangyang but also to nearby industrial complexes such as Yeosu and Hadong."