The company held the dedication ceremony Wednesday for the plant with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons of liquid hydrogen, enough to fuel 5,000 hydrogen buses for a year. SK E&S said it has invested about 700 billion won ($511.7 million) in the construction between 2021 and 2023.
Liquefied hydrogen offers the advantage of higher density compared to its vapor state. This allows for more energy to be stored in a given volume, making transportation easier. The process requires cooling to a temperature of minus 253 degrees Celsius, followed by storage in cryogenic containers, due to hydrogen's extreme flammability when mixed with air.
Currently, only nine countries, including the United States and Japan, possess the technology to produce liquid hydrogen.
"We are committed to establishing a stable hydrogen supply ecosystem through the smooth operation of the Incheon plant and the construction of liquefied hydrogen charging infrastructure," CEO Chu Hyung-wook said during the ceremony at IGE, its liquefied hydrogen business subsidiary.
SK E&S aims to build 40 liquefied hydrogen charging stations across the country by 2026.
