South Korea's trade and industry ministry (Motie) has approved 49 demonstration projects, with an emphasis on expanding liquid hydrogen infrastructure and establishing a circular economy.
Motie reviewed and approved a total of 49 projects, which will be exempt from existing regulations and allowed to start trials to verify their economic feasibility and safety, it said on 5 July. Of the 49 projects, 11 are related to hydrogen and energy, four involve recycling resources, five are mobility-related and 29 concern everyday services.
There is a focus on establishing liquid hydrogen infrastructure among the approved hydrogen projects, with South Korea also aiming to institutionalise safety standards for liquid hydrogen by 2024 to simplify the process of obtaining regulatory approval.
Domestic auto manufacturer Hyundai will develop and demonstrate a liquefied hydrogen storage system for commercial vehicles. This is the first such demonstration in South Korea, according to Motie. Industrial gas firm Linde and conglomerate Hyosung will supply the required liquid hydrogen from their joint 13,000 t/yr liquefaction plant in Ulsan. A consortium, including the Korea Railroad Research Institute and domestic industrial equipment manufacturer Hyundai Rotem, is also developing a liquid hydrogen storage system for rail vehicles. Liquid hydrogen can increase vehicle mileage as it stores more hydrogen in the same space compared with gaseous hydrogen, Motie said.
The Changwon Industry Promotion Agency separately plans to build and operate liquid hydrogen charging stations in South Gyeongsang province's Changwon city. This will involve two types of liquid hydrogen facilities, the first with liquefaction facilities such as vaporisers added to the existing gaseous hydrogen charging process, and the second being new liquid hydrogen stations with facilities such as cryogenic pumps.
Domestic steel producer Posco, industrial gas manufacturer Air Products Korea and hydrogen technology firm Fuel Cell Innovations will demonstrate hydrogen production through ammonia decomposition. The hydrogen will then be supplied to a nearby LNG power plant through pipelines, to a hydrogen filling station using a tube trailer, or used for hydrogen reduction in steel production. Domestic firm Doosan Fuel Cell separately plans to produce green hydrogen using the polymer electrolyte membrane method and will operate an on-site hydrogen charging station to verify the safety and efficiency of the process.
Circular economy
The approved projects are also focusing on recycling resources, with the country having unveiled a strategy to promote a circular economy across nine major industries.
Domestic auto manufacturer Samhyun is carrying out a pilot project to extract over 1.2 t/d of hydrogen from about 10 t/d of waste plastic, while domestic refiner S-Oil plans to produce oil and petrochemical products using 10,000t of waste plastic pyrolysis oil. Motie expects S-Oil's project to recycle over 85pc of waste plastics that are destined for incineration or landfill disposal, with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions dropping to 0.7t for every tonne of waste from the previous 1.9t. SK Incheon Petrochem's pilot project will also produce oil and petrochemical products by refining about 2.25mn t/yr of waste tyre pyrolysis oil, in efforts to cut CO2 emissions and crude import dependence. SK Energy is also carrying out trials to produce biodiesel and alternative fuels using animal and vegetable oils, which has a consumption below 200,000 t/yr.
Domestic car manufacturer JM.Wave also plans to convert 300 internal combustion engines trucks that each weigh 1t into electric trucks. South Korea also has plans to convert more than 250 commuter buses into hydrogen-fuelled buses by this year.
