South Korean LNG importing giant Kogas said it has started building a hydrogen production plant in Gwangju, a city in the country’s southwestern region.
Kogas said in a statement it held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on December 2.
The plant would have a capacity to produce about 1,400 mt per year when it starts production in March 2023, while the total investment would reach about 25.8 billion won ($21.9 million), according to Kogas.
Out of this, the Korean government will provide about 6.8 billion won ($5.7 million) for the construction of the plant.
The facility will use natural gas supplied through pipelines. The produced volumes could fuel 10,000 hydrogen passenger cars, Kogas said.
Also, Kogas said this is the first out of three mid-to-large scale hydrogen plants the company plans to build by 2023.
The other two plants would be located in Changwon and the port city of Pyeongtaek, where Kogas operates a large LNG import terminal.
Kogas currently operates four large-scale LNG terminals, namely Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Tongyeong, and Samcheok, as well as a small-scale regasification terminal at the Aewol port on Jeju island. The LNG importer is building a large terminal in Dangjin as well.
Big hydrogen plans
Kogas has earlier this year revealed ambitious plans for its hydrogen business as it aims to reach 3 trillion won ($2.55 billion) in operating profit by 2030.
The firm said then it plans to supply 830,000 tons of hydrogen per year by 2030, including importing green hydrogen from overseas from countries such as Australia.
Also, the firm said it would build 152 hydrogen stations by 2030 for the transport sector.
The firm also plans to convert its Pyeongtaek base into the first “carbon-neutral” hydrogen mega-station in Korea.
