Pohang City Sees Birth of First Hydrogen Specialist Company... Leading Growth in Hydrogen Materials and Components Industry

Hydrogen Company Support Project Produces Region's First Government-Designated Hydrogen Specialist

Hydrogen Specialist Company Innersensor... Aiming for Global Leadership in Hydrogen Sensor Market

Pohang City announced that InnerSensor (CEO Kang Moonsik), a local hydrogen sensor company, has been designated as the first "hydrogen-specialized company" in Pohang by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cluster Corporate Council" launched last April. (Kang Munsik, CEO of Inner Sensor, second row, seventh from the left)

The Hydrogen Convergence Alliance, an agency dedicated to promoting the hydrogen industry, added InnerSensor and six other companies as hydrogen-specialized companies through the Hydrogen Specialized Company Evaluation Committee on the 31st of last month.

With this, the total number of hydrogen-specialized companies nationwide has reached 99. Notably, two companies located in North Gyeongsang Province?InnerSensor in Pohang and HAPS in Gumi?were both selected as hydrogen-specialized companies by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy after receiving support from the "Preliminary Hydrogen Specialized Company Development Support Project" by Pohang City, North Gyeongsang Province, and Pohang Technopark, once again proving that Pohang is the optimal location for fostering hydrogen companies.

InnerSensor, newly designated as a hydrogen-specialized company, was founded in 2015 at Pohang Technopark. Based on semiconductor MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) design and processing technology, the company develops semiconductor sensors and supplies MEMS chips for hydrogen gas sensors used in Hyundai Motor's NEXO hydrogen vehicles.

As global demand for hydrogen energy rises rapidly and interest in hydrogen safety grows, the hydrogen sensor market is expected to reach 3 trillion KRW globally by 2028.

InnerSensor, leveraging its proprietary, patented sensor design technology, aims to attract 6 billion KRW in investment by 2025, achieve a 10% share of the global hydrogen detector market by 2027, and reach 200 billion KRW in sales and 60 billion KRW in operating profit through its hydrogen sensor business.

Following last year, Pohang City is implementing the "2024 Pohang Preliminary Hydrogen Specialized Company Development Support Project" through Pohang Technopark. This year, four companies, including InnerSensor, have been selected and are currently carrying out their respective projects.

The selected companies will receive up to 80 million KRW in support to conduct customized projects over the year, such as technology development, prototype production, promotional material creation, and exhibition participation, to become hydrogen-specialized companies.

In 2023, InnerSensor was selected for the "Production of High-Reliability MEMS Chips for Hydrogen Gas Sensors" project under the Preliminary Hydrogen Specialized Company Development Support Project, successfully producing prototypes and achieving excellent performance evaluations and patent applications.

Mayor Lee Kangdeok stated, "Pohang City is making various efforts to support hydrogen companies, including technology development, commercialization support, and on-site workforce training projects," adding, "Through active support to establish a foundation for new industries, we will do our best to build a hydrogen industry ecosystem so that Pohang's top companies can become the nation's top companies."

Pohang City is strengthening the hydrogen industry ecosystem by discovering small and medium-sized hydrogen companies with growth potential. The city aims to cluster 30 hydrogen companies by 2030 through the establishment of a hydrogen fuel cell cluster and to foster more than 10 hydrogen-specialized companies through the Preliminary Hydrogen Specialized Company Development Support Project.

In addition, with the designation of the hydrogen-specialized complex expected by the end of this year, the hydrogen fuel cell cluster is anticipated to provide broader and more diverse support measures for tenant companies once it is officially designated as a hydrogen-specialized complex.