Korea-U.S alliance to embrace hydrogen: Plug Power founder

George McNamee, co-founder of U.S. hydrogen company Plug Power Inc. [Photo by MK DB]

The technology alliance between South Korea and the U.S. will go beyond chips and batteries and develop into a cooperation on hydrogen, according to George McNamee, co-founder of U.S. hydrogen company Plug Power Inc.

“Building the clean hydrogen economy requires significant cooperation between technology providers, customers, and government through public policy,” McNamee said, in a recent e-mail interview with Maeil Business Newspaper.

McNamee is also the chairman of Plug Power’s board of directors.

“Strong cooperation between these stakeholders can significantly accelerate the development and industrial scaling of the clean hydrogen economy to provide a more sustainable future.”

McNamee’s first-ever interview with the Korean media was conducted after he attended a business event in Washington where U.S. companies committed investments in Korea on the sidelines of the Korea-U.S. summit.

Plug Power unveiled plans to invest a combined 1 trillion won ($752.9 million) with SK E&S Co., an energy firm under Korea’s SK Group, to build a hydrogen Gigafactory in Korea next year.

With the aim of mass production in 2025, the Gigafactory will have a planned annual capacity for electrolyzer systems of 200 megawatts (MW) mobility fuel cell systems to power approximately 1,000 vehicles, as well as 200MW of annual capacity for large-scale stationary fuel cells designed for power generation, according to McNamee.

The chairman noted that it was significant that energy was one of the key agendas discussed during the Korea-U.S. summit. He described the summit as a platform for the first in-depth discussion between the two countries on clean hydrogen.

Clean hydrogen refers to the energy that has little to no carbon emissions during the production.

Hydrogen falls into several types - gray hydrogen, which is produced from a mix of fossil fuels and natural gas; blue hydrogen, which is produced from carbon capture and storage as a byproduct of gray hydrogen; and green hydrogen, which is made by using only renewable energy like wind power.

Korea has yet to determine which type of hydrogen is defined as clean hydrogen.

McNamee stressed the need for a clean hydrogen policy from the Korean government in a bid to develop successful hydrogen business models.

“The clean hydrogen certification can be implemented this year and outline realistic measures enough to encourage businesses to make investment decisions,” he said.

“The U.S. has recently announced legislation actively promoting the local hydrogen industry through Inflation Reduction Act (IRA),” McNamee said.

He called on Korea to join the global race for hydrogen leadership.

“The U.S. considers hydrogen, along with batteries and semiconductors, as key industries and aims to lead the global hydrogen industry by expanding its local industrial foundation,” he said.

McNamee also highlighted the potential of a research and development (R&D) center for hydrogen technology, in addition to the production facility.

“(Hydrogen) can be expanded in future mobility, ranging from drones to ships and aviation,” he said.

“The R&D center will allow us to develop new technologies and applications for the Asian market and commercialize them, facilitating the transition into the broader hydrogen economy while expand our business opportunities.”