In recent news there are plans for a large-scale green hydrogen complex located at South Korea’s Saemangeum, which have been announced after a memorandum of understanding -MoU took place between Korea South-East Power – KOEN and Saemangeum Development Agency.
Interestingly, the contract covers the proposed development in terms of an integrated facility that has a mix of solar power generation and green hydrogen production in South Korea as well as hydrogen-fired electricity output at only one site in Buan, which is situated in the North Jeolla Province.
The proposal goes on to outline a site that covers almost 10.1 square kilometers, with more plans of 1GW of onshore solar capacity as well as a 320MW water electrolysis installation along with a 100MW of hydrogen-only power generation.
Notably, KOEN and the Saemangeum Development Agency regard this as the first integrated demonstration of solar power, hydrogen production through electrolysis, and electricity generation from hydrogen, and that too at a commercial scale hence paving the way for green hydrogen production in South Korea.
A central trait of the project is a power-to-gas-to-power -P2G2P system. Solar-generated electricity is going to drive the electrolysis equipment, which apparently would generate green hydrogen specifically for storage.
This hydrogen, in a way, could then be converted back to electricity within a dedicated turbine in case additional power is needed or when the grid demand grows.
As per KOEN, getting all three stages together could help absorb extra renewable energy, enable dispatchable clean electricity manufacturing, and avoid any sort of curtailment in a scenario where generation goes beyond grid capacity.
The fact is that as of now, the development is still in its nascent stages, with the MoU marking an intention to proceed and not at all a final commitment of investment.
KOEN is in talks with many businesses when it comes to forming a special-purpose company and is looking to secure supply chains in terms of equipment required for the project.
The Saemangeum Development Agency is going to offer land, enable the streamlining of the permitting processes, and work to ensure regional acceptance.
KOEN, on the other hand, is going to focus on a detailed business model and looks to share economic advantages locally. A consultative group is getting together so as to advance the initiative.
Interestingly, Saemangeum is already home to many hydrogen-related developments, which include the likes of a functional commercial water-electrolysis plant and also planned investments by Hyundai Motor Group in the fields of hydrogen and technology within the region.
The newly proposed KOEN project that has 320MW of electrolysis, is going to be significantly bigger as compared to current facilities.
KOEN looks forward to connecting the project to the clean-hydrogen electricity market of South Korea, where the clean hydrogen power purchase when it comes to 2026 has been fixed at 500 GW-hours.
The electricity that is produced via stored hydrogen can very well be eligible when it comes to long-term supply contracts. KOEN regards them as a significant factor given the fact that there are additional costs and inefficiencies that are involved in terms of converting electricity to hydrogen and back again as compared to the grid supply that’s direct.