SK E&S, Korea South-East Power sign MOU on green power cooperation

Lee Ji-young, left, SK E&S senior vice president, and Eun Sangpyo, head of new business at KOEN, pose for a photo during a signing ceremony held Thursday in Jongno District, central Seoul. [SK E&S]

SK E&S, a natural gas company, on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with state-run Korea South-East Power (KOEN) to cooperate on power generation using green hydrogen and ammonia.

SK E&S will supply water electrolysis devices, which are used in the production of green hydrogen, through SK Plug Hyverse. Established in January, SK Plug Hyverse is a 51:49 joint venture between SK E&S and Plug Power, a Latham, New York-based hydrogen fuel cell company.

KOEN will purchase green hydrogen and ammonia for mixed-fuel power generation at its coal and gas plants.

As the project to create a hydrogen value chain is in its early stages, the supplier of the green hydrogen has not yet been decided, according to SK E&S.

As SK E&S and KOEN plan to cooperate in overseas hydrogen projects in the future, the MOU marked their first step toward securing the global hydrogen supply chain, the companies said.

“Starting with the MOU, we will review various opportunities in green hydrogen and ammonia production and utilization sector with KOEN both at home and abroad,” said Lee Ji-young, SK E&S senior vice president.

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