[Special Stock] Hantech Draws Attention with Technology to Capture $3000 Trillion Carbon Market in Alaska... Signs of Sellout Stock

Hantec is showing strong performance. Expectations are rising that it will benefit from the U.S. Trump administration's LNG projects and rapidly increase profits by securing new growth engines. Hantec, which was listed on the KOSDAQ market on the 20th of last month, has its largest shareholder, Husky, holding 69.41% of the shares. Through the initial public offering (IPO), shares were distributed via both secondary sales and new share issuance. It is attracting attention due to the minimal overhang issue.

At 11:18 AM on the 2nd, Hantec was trading at 26,900 KRW, up 11.16% from the previous day.

Jung-in Park, a researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, explained, "The second Trump administration set the revival of the domestic energy industry through increased oil and gas production as a policy goal," adding, "Recently, the Trump administration has been promoting a $44 billion (approximately 64 trillion KRW) Alaska LNG development project, raising expectations for growth in the U.S.-led LNG industry."

He continued, "During the first Trump administration, Hantec's LNG project order volume was $80 million," and added, "The currently confirmed bidding amount for North American LNG projects reaches $200 million."

Furthermore, he analyzed, "Hantec is a qualified supplier of global licensor equipment and can provide customized manufacturing for each project," and "It possesses technology for manufacturing special non-ferrous material equipment resistant to acidity." He emphasized, "Hantec has secured top-tier global EPC companies such as BECHTEL, which holds 30% of the U.S. LNG terminal construction market, as well as KBR and Samsung E&A as clients."

Sales growth driven by new business initiatives is also an expected factor. According to the construction industry magazine MEED, the total contract amount in the Middle East construction market in 2023 reached a record high of $253.7 billion. Saudi Arabia accounted for 36%, recording $92 billion, proving it is the largest market in the region. Hantec is currently exploring ways to enter the Middle East market, led by Saudi Arabia. Based on its experience in manufacturing special material equipment and various pressure vessels, Hantec is considering technology exports or semi-finished product exports. Local pressure vessel manufacturers in Saudi Arabia have an average delivery time of about two years and sell products at prices 1.5 times higher than Hantec. Hantec expects that exporting to Saudi Arabia through giga projects will serve as a starting point to pioneer the Middle East market, including neighboring countries such as the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Hantec also leads in technology in the special material equipment sector. The difficulty in manufacturing special material equipment lies in the activity of special materials such as titanium and zirconium. Their high activity causes high-temperature oxidation problems, and especially when heated by welding heat, they react with oxygen at various temperature layers. Recently, as safety and operational efficiency have increased in petrochemical and nuclear facilities, demand for special material equipment has grown. Due to international conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Iran wars, demand for explosives has increased, leading to a rising demand for chemical equipment used in plants manufacturing explosives. Hantec has a track record of achieving high profit margins by supplying heat exchangers using special materials for the Hanwha N1 project in which it participated.

The global carbon capture market size is projected to surpass $43.8 billion by 2033, up from $6 billion in 2023. Hantec possesses design and manufacturing technology for cryogenic tanks related to liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) storage containers used for captured carbon. It is striving to enter the market with three types of containers: LCO2 containers used on ships, LCO2 storage containers for CO2 transport, and storage containers for LCO2 storage on land.

Climate Solutions expressed concerns that the Alaska LNG project will incur massive carbon costs. In a commentary last month, Climate Solutions explained, "Attempts to commercialize gas in northern Alaska began with pipeline plans in the 1970s and have continued for decades." Citing the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) 2023 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (Final SEIS) for the Alaska LNG project, it stated, "This project plans to export approximately 632.3 million tons of LNG over about 30 years starting in 2029," and "This amount is about 14 times South Korea's annual gas import volume as of 2023."

The environmental impact assessment estimated greenhouse gas emissions from LNG use based on a scenario that set South Korea as one of the main export countries. Calculating carbon costs based on this, the total carbon cost could range from approximately 3,300 trillion KRW to a maximum of 6,300 trillion KRW, depending on whether carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is applied.