South Korea’s first wind-to-green hydrogen facility is planned for the island of Jeju after major utility and industrial groups in the country linked for a pilot project.

Doosan Heavy Industries, Korea Gas Corporation and Korea Midland Power joined government agencies and local authorities for the project, which will tap 3MW of onshore wind to power electrolysis for green H₂, in a facility that will also include hydrogen and battery storage units.

The 600kg of hydrogen produced daily by the Jeju unit will be used to run fuel-cell buses on the island.

The 20bn won ($18m) initiative – due to start operations in 2022 – will allow South Korea to assess “the entire life cycle from wind power-based hydrogen production to storage, transport and utilisation,” said a statement.

It is designed to pave the way for a big expansion of renewable hydrogen in South Korea, where Doosan Heavy said the government wants green H₂ to make up 30% of a 5.3-million-tonne hydrogen market by 2040.

Yongjin Song, Doosan Heavy’s chief sustainability officer, said: “With the South Korean government having recently launched the hydrogen energy portfolio standard(HPS), we expect that the demand for hydrogen will rapidly increase in Korea.”

Doosan Heavy is currently undergoing a major corporate restructuring that will see it pivot to renewables and clean energy as part of a bail-out by the South Korean government.

The group is designing an 8MW home-grown offshore wind turbine, and last week announced a link with compatriot infrastructure giant SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) to develop and equip floating wind projects.

Offshore wind, rooftop solar and green hydrogen are all expected to play a big role in the 2050 net-zero ambitions unveiled in October by President Moon Jae-in.

Moon unveiled a 43 trillion won ($35bn) 'Green New Deal' plan earlier this year that critics said lacked a detailed roadmap to achieve its goals.

Transition

South Korean heavyweights back first green hydrogen from wind project