Expanding our Hydrogen presence in Korea

The growing presence of hydrogen projects in Korea has until recently, been delivered primarily by companies from out with the country, due to their established experience. However, this approach is changing and our team in Seoul has secured a number of opportunities which it is hoped will lead to many more.

In recent years, the Korean government has strongly promoted hydrogen projects to establish hydrogen infrastructure in-country. Project scopes have included the production, transportation, and storage of hydrogen, and its use in land and sea transportation.

Until now, the Korean Government and participating companies have preferred to adopt proven design and technology from foreign companies, especially for hydrogen production and land use, to reduce the risk of costs from trial and error. In parallel with this, some local companies focused on making partnerships with less experienced overseas companies such as Aramco.

There have, to date, been relatively less opportunities in risk analysis on these hydrogen projects as an existing proven design was being used or the overseas licensee had led the risk analysis. It is however, expected that there will be more opportunities if Korean companies develop their own facilities and designs after this phase.

With regards to maritime transportation and connection to land infrastructure, there has been discussions that related regulations and the technical foundation are insufficient, and it would be more difficult to adopt proven references from foreign companies. Under this understanding, the Korean Government last year launched an initiative to establish the relevant foundation including both companies and academia. As a result, our team has secured several opportunities.

Jun-Hong Kim, Country Manager of Korea, said: “We are delivering six safety analysis studies in connection with this initiative, primarily around the areas of transportation and storage. Since it is still in the early stages, most of the studies are HAZID/LOPA for various hydrogen storage systems, boil-off hydrogen re-liquefaction systems, and hydrogen-based fuel cell and fuel gas systems. While the studies we have been awarded are not significant in size, if the initial cooperative relationship continues, it is expected that there could be more opportunities for other and more significant scopes.”