POSCO, Hanwha join hands to develop vertiports for UAM

A rendering of a vertiport. [Courtesy of Korea Airports Corp.]

POSCO and Hanwha Corp. will join hands to develop vertiports, an essential infrastructure of the operations of urban air mobility (UAM), which is considered a future transportation.

POSCO said on Thursday that it signed a joint research agreement with the construction unit of Hanwha and Korea Airports Corp. on the development of strategic technologies to respond to the future UAM construction market.

Under the agreement, POSCO and Hanwha will set a standard model for vertiports via joint research efforts and embark on the development and production of steel materials optimized for vertiports.

The vertiports built by the two companies will be installed at Jamsil Sports MICE Complex and Suseo Station in Seoul.

POSCO said that an engineering technique of steel structure, combined with light materials, will be applied to the vertiports in which take-offs and landings of UAM vehicles occur frequently.

The steel structure refers to a metal layout made of structural steel components connected to each other to provide comprehensive stiffness.

The company will aim to develop a module-type steel structure that can be used in a vertiport with more UAM vehicles and expanded terminals.

UAM applications have emerged as a driving engine for the growth of the economy.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, commercial UAM operations will be widely introduced across the Seoul area by 2025, which can escalate demand for vertiports in the coming years.

“The latest collaboration on joint research will be an opportunity to facilitate the commercialization of UAM applications,” said Oh Do-gil, an official at POSCO.