Posco and Hyundai to cooperate in the hydrogen business
Posco Group, South Korean steelmaker, and Hyundai Motor Group, South Korean multinational conglomerate, have agreed to cooperate on hydrogen business. Leaders of both companies Choi Jung-woo, chairman of Posco Group and jung-sun Jung-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Electric Group, signed the cooperation agreement on 16th February.
The two companies agreed on developing hydrogen energy technology and converting Posco steelworks vehicles into fuel cell-based hydrogen-electric vehicles.
Posco said it would develop green hydrogen manufacturing technology using ammonia, while Hyundai would promote the fuel cell power generation project using green hydrogen from Posco. The two companies will continue to collaborate to develop and apply next-generation materials for hydrogen-powered vehicles using Posco steel.
Posco has been operating around 1,500 vehicles at its Pohang and Gwangyang Steelworks, which planned to be switched to Hyundai’s hydrogen-electric vehicles in stages. Both companies will work on building a hydrogen charging station for hydrogen trucks in steel mills.
Hyundai’s Nexo has been using Poss470FC, the world’s first non-coating metal powder material developed by Posco. Poss470FC stainless steel has an alloy design that ensures excellent corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity without any additional coating process.
Both companies have been active in the hydrogen market and have set their own goals. In December 2020, Posco announced that it would build a 5 million tonne hydrogen production capacity by 2050. Posco currently has 7,000 tonnes of by-product hydrogen production capacity, and it wants to develop the green hydrogen projects both locally and internationally.
Hyundai has already launched a hydrogen electric vehicle, NEXO, to produce 500,000 hydrogen-electric vehicles and 700,000 hydrogen fuel systems by 2030.
