Aju Business Daily

 

SEOUL -- Hanwha Solutions, a unit of South Korea's Hanwha Group, jumped into a green energy project to produce hydrogen using wind power generation. The company aims to accumulate hydrogen production technology by collecting operational data when commercial operation begins in the second half of 2022.

Hanwha Solutions signed a memorandum of understanding on December 3 with Korea Gas Technology Corporation and the provincial government of Gangwon in northeast South Korea to build a water electrolysis facility capable of producing 290 tons of hydrogen per year and a charging station by using a wind turbine complex in Pyeongchang.

Water electrolysis, known as water splitting, is the process of using electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas. The hydrogen production facility in Pyeongchang will be built with a total investment of 30 billion won ($27 million). Hanwha Solutions will be in charge of building production facilities. Korea Gas Technology Corporation is responsible for construction, repair and maintenance.

"Through this project, we will verify the green hydrogen business model based on renewable energy and contribute to the regional economy of Gangwon Province and the revitalization of a hydrogen ecosystem at home," said Hanwha Solutions co-CEO Lee Koo-yung.

Green hydrogen is produced from water using renewable power while blue hydrogen is derived from natural gas with carbon capture technology. Because of growing concerns about a dwindling supply of oil and emissions of pollutants, some countries have tried to adopt hydrogen fuel for their public transport system. South Korea has unveiled a roadmap to produce 6.2 million fuel cell vehicles by 2040.