SK E&S to expand hydrogen business with investment in Monolith Materials

Monolith Materials' hydrogen plant in Nebraska [MONOLITH MATERIALS]

SK E&S is investing $25 million in Lincoln, Nebraska-based Monolith Materials, the Korean natural gas company said Monday.

SK E&S is looking to expand its eco-friendly hydrogen business, from blue and green to even turquoise hydrogen, according to the company.

Green hydrogen is generated from renewable energy, while blue hydrogen is made from natural gas and generates carbon dioxide in the production process, which is captured and stored in the ground.

Like blue hydrogen, turquoise hydrogen is made from methane — a key component of natural gas — and is considered a low-emission energy source along with green and blue hydrogen because it does not emit carbon dioxide in the production process.

Established in 2012, Monolith Materials holds proprietary technology in producing turquoise hydrogen through a process called methane pyrolysis.

The process produces hydrogen and carbon black — a solid form of carbon used to make car tires among other things — without emitting carbon dioxide.

SK Inc., which owns 90 percent of SK E&S, also invested an undisclosed amount of money in the U.S. hydrogen producer in June last year to acquire a stake and a seat on Monolith Materials’ board.

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in October to set up a joint venture for the clean hydrogen business as well, which is currently under discussion.

Moreover, Monolith received conditional approval for a $1 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy in December last year to expand its turquoise hydrogen production facilities in Hallam, Nebraska.

Based on the latest investments, SK E&S plans to cooperate with Monolith in the Asian hydrogen market.

“Turquoise hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide in the manufacturing process,” said Kwon Hyung-kyun, head of the hydrogen business department at SK E&S. “We will focus on optimizing the hydrogen business portfolio by using our business capability from the blue and green hydrogen sectors in the turquoise hydrogen business.”

SK E&S has been scaling up its blue hydrogen business to expand its business portfolio from the traditional natural gas business. The company aims to produce and supply 30,000 tons of liquefied hydrogen from 2023 through a hydrogen plant in Incheon, which is currently under construction.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]