Representatives from POSCO Holdings and the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) pose after signing a memorandum of understanding regarding their partnership in the hydrogen business last Friday. From left, KEPCO CEO Cheong Seung-il, KEPCO Chief Innovation Officer Choi Hyun-geun, POSCO Holdings Vice President Yoo Byeong-og, and POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo. Courtesy of POSCO Holdings

By Park Jae-hyuk

POSCO Holdings and the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last Friday to cooperate in supplying hydrogen and developing relevant technologies, the two companies said Sunday.

"Not only is hydrogen an important raw material for carbon-free 'green steel,' but it is also an essential source of clean energy for the zero-carbon era," POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo said. "Regarding the hydrogen business as one of our core businesses, we expect to lay a cornerstone of the hydrogen economy through our partnership with KEPCO, which will be the nation's largest supplier and consumer of hydrogen."

The hydrogen economy refers to an economy that relies on hydrogen as a commercial fuel.

"Based on the recent MOU, we will make progress in talks for actual projects, doing our best to play a major role in creating a hydrogen ecosystem in Korea," KEPCO CEO Cheong Seung-il said.

Both companies plan to invest jointly in establishing infrastructures here and overseas to produce "green" and "blue" hydrogen, each of which refers to hydrogen generated by renewable energy and hydrogen produced from natural gas.

Given that POSCO Group and KEPCO are the country's largest consumers of hydrogen, their collaboration is expected to enable economies of scale, enhancing their competitiveness in the global market.

In particular, the holding firm of POSCO Group and the state-run electric utility company are considering investing in projects to produce green and blue hydrogen in Saudi Arabia and Chile, with the aim of introducing the cleaner source of energy by 2027.

They will also seek to swap hydrogen and ammonia, to reduce external risks through a flexible supply and prompt responses to the changing business environment.

In addition, they will push ahead with research to improve carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, as well as the development of technologies on co-firing hydrogen and ammonia with coal and liquefied natural gas, to reduce carbon emissions when generating electricity.