SK E&S has held a completion ceremony for the “world’s largest” liquefied hydrogen plant, capable of producing 30,000 tonnes per year.
The plant is expected to begin full operation this year (2024), after it was mechanically completed towards the end of 2023, followed by a commissioning period.
Located within the SK Incheon Petrochemical site in Wonchang-dong, Seo-gu in South Korea, the plant both produces and distributes liquefied hydrogen, from purification and liquefaction to storage and shipment. The cylindrical purification facilities can refine 42,000 tonnes of hydrogen annually, which can then be refined to 99.999% purity.
The liquefaction train can produce up to 90 tonnes of liquefied hydrogen per day following a cooling process, which sees two compressors cool the hydrogen to -253°C. Alongside the liquefaction train are six storage tanks, capable of storing 20 tonnes of hydrogen before it is delivered via hydrogen tanks onboard trailers.
© SK E&S
Each of these can transport about three tonnes of liquefied hydrogen at once, which is reported to be “10 times the amount a 250kg tube trailer can transport.”
The basic Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) of the plant began in 2021, before construction started later that year.
H2 View understands that the produced liquefied hydrogen will be utilised in the mobility sector, in particular for buses and trucks to accelerate the decarbonisation of those sectors. A statement released by SK E&S said, “This lays the foundation for South Korea to leap forward as a leading hydrogen economy nation.”
Elsewhere, Plug Power recently resumed the operation of its liquid hydrogen plant in Tennessee, the US, with a further 10 tonnes per day of liquid hydrogen being added to the US market.
Read more:Plug Power resumes Tennessee liquid hydrogen plant to boost US capacity
The plant improvements are anticipated to enhance its overall efficiency, whilst a cryogenic trailer fleet will also be provided by Plug, to deliver the fuel to its customers across North America.
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