POSCO to Expand Hydrogen Production to 5 Mil. Tons by 2050

POSCO has unveiled a new vision of becoming a green hydrogen enterprise that leads a transition to a decarbonized hydrogen economy. To attain the vision, the company plans to expand its hydrogen production capacity to five million tons a year by 2050.

It will seek to secure core technologies for hydrogen production through water electrolysis and establish hydrogen production facilities by 2030, and foster the hydrogen business as one of its growth engines.

Currently, POSCO produces 7,000 tons of hydrogen annually using by-product gas generated from a steel manufacturing process, and LNG. It extracts about 3,500 tons of by-product hydrogen and use it to control temperature and prevent oxidation during steel production.In addition, the steelmaker has developed the world's first steel product for hydrogen fuel cell separators and supplies it to hydrogen car producers in Korea.

POSCO plans to strengthen its capabilities to research the hydrogen reduction steel production method which is a steel production technology using hydrogen, develop steel products needed to produce, transport, storage and utilize hydrogen, increase facilities for production of hydrogen, and develop core technologies for hydrogen production among others going forward.

On top of that, the company plans to pursue large-scale investments while seeking various business opportunities such as green hydrogen distribution, infrastructure construction, and participation in green hydrogen projects.

By doing so, the company plans to jack up its production capacity of by-product hydrogen to 70,000 tons by 2025, and to produce up to 500,000 tons of blue hydrogen in cooperation with global companies by 2030. At the same time, it plans to complete a five-million-ton green hydrogen production system by 2050 including the establishment of a two-million-ton green hydrogen production system by 2040.

Blue hydrogen is produced by using fossil fuels such as natural gas, and carbon dioxide generated at this time is collected and stored in the ground. Green hydrogen is produced by the electrolysis of water based on new and renewable energy.

POSCO also plans to usher in a carbon-phase out era by realizing a hydrogen reduction steel mill based on green hydrogen by 2050. If the hydrogen reduction steel construction method is commercialized, it will require up to 3.7 million tons of green hydrogen a year, which is expected to make POSCO the largest hydrogen demand company and producer.

It will also develop technology to extract hydrogen from ammonia considered key technology for hydrogen transportation and storage. Ammonia is a combination of hydrogen and nitrogen and is considered the best material for the efficient and economical transportation of hydrogen.

Source: POSCO, Photo: Fotolia