South Korean energy firms step up hydrogen investments

: Biofuels, Emissions, Hydrogen, Natural gas
21/03/11

South Korean firms are ramping up efforts to develop renewable hydrogen capacity as the country works towards its 2050 carbon neutrality goal.

Major energy firm SK is investing 18.5 trillion South Korean won ($16bn) to construct a 280,000 t/yr hydrogen ecosystem in Incheon by 2025.

The company, South Korea's biggest refiner, will produce 30,000t of liquified hydrogen by 2023 using by-product from its SK Incheon Petrochemical plant for supply to the local metropolitan area.

Phase two will add 250,000 t/yr of blue hydrogen produced from LNG and will use carbon capture and storage facilities to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Investment is also going into the distribution network through the installation of 100 charging stations nationwide to distribute 80,000 t/yr of liquified hydrogen by 2025, while a pipeline is in the works to transport 200,000 t/yr of blue hydrogen to feed a new 400MW fuel cell power plant.

A $1.6bn partnership has been signed with US manufacturer Plug Power to provide hydrogen fuel cell systems, fuelling stations and electrolysers to South Korea and other Asian markets.

Other South Korean companies are also looking to invest in hydrogen, in their cases through partnerships in the Middle East. GS Energy entered an agreement with Abu Dhabi's state-owned Adnoc last week to develop blue hydrogen in the UAE.

And Hyundai Heavy Industries has signed an initial deal with Saudi Arabian state-controlled company Saudi Aramco to develop renewable hydrogen and ammonia.

The firm's refinery unit Hyundai Oilbank will import LPG from Aramco to convert into blue hydrogen for use at its refinery desulphurisation units and marketed for transport fuel and power generation. It plans to open 300 charging stations across the country by 2040 to strengthen supply chains. The volume of LPG covered by the deal has yet to be determined.

Aramco will also provide blue ammonia for use a fuel for LNG boilers scheduled to come on line by 2024.

Hyundai Heavy's Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering unit will also develop a vessel that can carry LPG cargoes and capture CO2, as well as pursue ammonia carriers and propulsion ships.

Hyundai Heavy earlier this year announced a W1 trillion investment to develop cleaner ships as part of the International Maritime Organization's drive for vessels to reduce CO2 emissions by 40pc by 2030 and by 70pc by 2050, alongside a 50pc GHG reduction by 2050 from 2008 base levels.

By Amandeep Parmar

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

24/11/27

Australia on track for 2030 GHG emissions target

Sydney, 27 November (Argus) — Australia is on track to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 42.6pc by 2030 from 2005 levels, nearly within the country's 43pc target, climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen announced today. The forecast is based on the baseline scenario from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)'s emissions projections 2024 report, which will be released on 28 November, according to Bowen. It compares to a 37pc reduction estimated in the 2023 report under the baseline scenario and is slightly above the previous report's 42pc projection under a scenario "with additional measures", as those policies have now been incorporated into the baseline assumptions. The inaugural emissions projections report, published at the end of 2022 , showed forecast reductions of 32pc in the baseline scenario and 40pc in the additional measures scenario. The main policies incorporated are the expanded Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) and the fuel efficiency standards for new passenger and light commercial vehicles, Bowen said. Under the CIS, Australia will support 32GW of new capacity consisting of 23GW of renewable capacity such as solar, wind and hydro, as well as 9GW of dispatchable capacity such as pumped hydro and grid-scale batteries. Tenders will run every six months until 2026-27 and winners will need to start operating their assets by 2030, in time to help the Labor government meet its target of sourcing 82pc of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Bowen last month announced tender volumes would be accelerated on the back of strong interest in the initial 6GW tender in May. NEM review The government separately announced the start of a review of the National Electricity Market (NEM) wholesale market settings, which will need to be changed following the conclusion of the CIS tenders in 2027 and as Australia transitions to more renewables from its aging coal-fired plants. The tenders will give up to 15 years of support, but new settings will be needed to promote investment in firmed renewable generation and storage capacity into the 2030s and beyond, especially as the Renewable Energy Target scheme will come to an end on 31 December 2030 . An expert independent panel will carry out widespread consultation and make final recommendations to energy and climate ministers in late 2025. The panel will need to consider the importance of decarbonising Australia's electricity system to achieve the 43pc emissions reduction target by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050, according to the government. But the panel "will not consider" options that involve implementation of carbon trading schemes or carbon markets, or that entail governments supporting new fossil fuel generation, it added. The federal government will need to co-ordinate and introduce a "clear and enduring" carbon signal in the energy sector to adapt the 25-year-old NEM to a "post-coal era" , domestic think-tank Grattan Institute said earlier this year. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Q&A: AtJ learnings, mandate critical for Australian SAF

24/11/27

Q&A: AtJ learnings, mandate critical for Australian SAF

Sydney, 27 November (Argus) — Australian bioenergy developer Jet Zero has received strong government backing for its proposed Project Ulysses, an alcohol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in the northern Queensland state city of Townsville. Argus spoke to chief executive Ed Mason on the sidelines of the Townsville Summit on 27 November about the project's initial engineering. Edited highlights follow: Regarding the proposed 102mn l/yr refinery here in Townsville, what are some of the initial engineering study findings? So with front-end engineering and design (FEED), what we're doing is value engineering, which you typically do at the end of FEED, we're doing it at the front because we've seen so many opportunities to improve on the reference project design in Georgia, US — they're just basically lessons learned from what LanzaJet have seen, as well as what we've identified as opportunities to eliminate, reduce, simplify costs. We've got hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA), that's the kind of space rocket that can get you to the moon, we've now got alcohol-to-jet commercialised, which is like the space shuttle — slightly better, which can do more. But we really need to see a SpaceX type of system where you can go up and down and make it more efficient, so it's making those technologies far more capital efficient and better, so that's what we're focused on. W here are negotiations at with refiners Wilmar and Manildra, the two main producers of ethanol in Australia? We basically have constructive discussions in particular with Wilmar, they have surplus capacity, they're vocal supporters of development of the ethanol market, as you know, for many years. We've got ample supply (183mn l/yr) and confidence about what we need for SAF and importantly, assisting that supplier getting that feedstock RSB and Corsia certified. Looking at the regulatory situation at the moment, a low-carbon fuel standard. How critical is that to building a project like yours to final investment? We made a submission on the [low-carbon liquid fuel paper]. We're advocating both supply and demand measures and were fairly aligned with the wider industry submission. We believe a modest mandate, 1-2pc, supports and is ahead of what the project pipeline is, so you're not putting a mandate that can't be achieved by the projects at our stage but that sends a strong signal, like other countries have already sent. Secondly, supply measures around financing like other types of mechanisms you've seen with Hydrogen Headstart , just to get the industry going. How tight is the window for Australia to catch up with the rest of the world? It's very tight. I think we've got to move in the next two years — there is a wall of demand from 2030 and these projects take five years to develop from start to finish. If we don't move in this in the next few years, we'll end up seeing the feedstock develop that market, but not the production of SAF and we'll lose out on those jobs. A standard size plant has been proposed in Townsville, how much room do you have to grow that capacity in Townsville? We'd very much like to be bigger if the market was there for ethanol. We've sized it at the minimum size that we feel can deliver commercial volumes of SAF at a price that's in line with benchmark, but the bigger you go, the bigger economies of scale you get. These are modules, we can increase and add another train to Townsville quite easily, so a huge opportunity to grow that. The actual plant construction timeframe, what does that look like? The longest lead item is 14 months, but I'd assume two years. So if we are at final investment decision in the second half of next year, we could conceivably see this project start producing SAF by the second half of 2027. Is sugarcane going to be sufficient for growing AtJ SAF, or will we need other feedstock in the future? The sugarcane industry has theoretically got the biggest contributing opportunity, particularly short to medium term with this industry. But you've got agave, you've got other types of crops that can produce like sorghum and other types of sources of ethanol that can be used, and they are a potentially medium-to-long-term supply opportunity. [Farming lobby] Canegrowers ran a fairly extensive campaign around the potential of biofuels in the last Queensland state election, and we've seen other bodies in the sugar industry run similar campaigns so the industry, from grower to miller, is supportive of developing the industry. We've only seen sugar mills close in north Queensland over the last decade, I think ultimately the rest of the world's sugar industry has already moved on [biofuels]. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Norden agrees marine biodiesel deal with Meta

24/11/26

Norden agrees marine biodiesel deal with Meta

London, 26 November (Argus) — Danish shipping company Norden has agreed with tech giant Meta to utilise marine biodiesel blends on operated vessels. The deal is based on Norden's book-and-claim, a system that can be used to deliver proof of sustainability (PoS) documentation to customers to offset the latter's scope 3 emissions and fulfil their voluntary demand. The PoS can be obtained on a mass-balance system, allowing shipowners flexibility with regards to the port at which a blend can be bunkered. Norden did not specify which marine biodiesel blends it will use as part of this agreement, but said the biofuel will be ISCC-certified and will have an 80-90pc greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction potential. The agreement follows recent drops in Argus assessments for marine biodiesel blends comprising Advanced Fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) 0 in the ARA trading and refining hub. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Bimco develops FuelEU clause for charter parties

24/11/26

Bimco develops FuelEU clause for charter parties

Sao Paulo, 26 November (Argus) — Danish shipping association Bimco has developed a contractual clause to support time charter parties ahead of FuelEU Maritime regulations that come into force at the beginning of 2025. The clause designates the shipowner to be the party responsible for FuelEU Maritime. Bimco said the clause is intended to be the standard applicable for most scenarios and commercial relationships. Among the recommendations, the clause states it is mandatory for a shipowner to present the vessel's compliance balance for the previous two years and in the current year. The FuelEU maritime regulation will start in 2025 and will require that ships traveling in, out of, and within EU territorial waters gradually reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity on a lifecycle basis. It will start with a 2pc reduction in 2025, 6pc in 2030, and will be 80pc by 2050, all compared with 2020 levels. The regulation applies to all commercial ships above 5,000 gross tonnes (GT) carrying passengers or cargo. "The clause we have adopted today is the result of a collaborative process between owners, charterers, Protection and Indemnity (P&I), legal experts, and other stakeholders," said Bimco's documentary committee chairman Nicholas Fell. Bimco has also already adopted a clause for emission trading allowances under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) for ship management agreements, voyage charter parties, and contracts of affreightment. By Gabriel Tassi Lara and Natália Coelho Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Uruguay's left-wing candidate wins presidency

24/11/25

Uruguay's left-wing candidate wins presidency

Montevideo, 25 November (Argus) — The left-wing opposition Frente Amplio will return to power in Uruguay after winning a hard-fought run-off election on 24 November. Yamandu Orsi, former mayor of the Canalones department, was elected president with close to 51pc of valid votes. He defeated Alvaro Delgado, of the ruling Partido Nacional. The Frente will control the senate, but will have a minority in the lower chamber. It last governed from 2015-2020. Orsi will take office on 1 March in one of Latin America's most stable economies, with the World Bank forecasting growth at 3.2pc for this year, much higher than the 1.9pc regional average. He will also inherit a country that has been making strides to implement a second energy transition geared toward continued decarbonization and new technologies, such as SAF and low-carbon hydrogen. He will also have to decide on future oil and natural gas exploration. Uruguay does not produce oil or gas, but has hopes that its offshore mimics that of Nambia, because of similar geology. TotalEnergies has made a major find there. The Frente's government plan states that it "will deepen the energy transition, focusing on the use of renewable energy, and decarbonization of the economy and transportation … gradually regulating so that public and cargo transportation can operate with hydrogen." On to hydrogen Uruguay is already the regional leader with renewable energy, with renewables covering 100pc of power demand on 24 November, according to the state-run power company, UTE. Wind accounted for 49pc, hydro 35pc, biomass 10pc and solar 6pc. Orsi will need to make decisions regarding high-profile projects for low-carbon hydrogen, as well as a push by the state-run Ancap to get private companies to ramp up oil and gas exploration on seven offshore blocks. The industry, energy and mining ministry lists four planned low-carbon hydrogen projects, including one between Chile's HIF and Ancap subsidiary Alur that would have a 1GW electrolyzer. Germany's Enertrag is working on an e-methanol project with a 150MW electrolyzer, while two Uruguayan groups are working on small projects with 2MW and 5MW electrolyzers, respectively. The Orsi government will also need to decide if it continues with Ancap's planned bidding process for four offshore blocks, each between 600-800km² (232-309 mi²), to generate up to 3.2GW of wind power to produce 200,000 t/yr of green hydrogen on floating platforms. The Frente has been noncommittal about the future of seven offshore oil and gas blocks, including three held by Shell, two by the UK's Challenger — which recently farmed in Chevron — and one each by Argentina's state-owned YPF and US-based APA Corporation. The Frente's government plan states that "a national dialogue will be called to analyze the impacts and alternatives to exploration and extraction of fossil fuels." By Lucien Chauvin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more