Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
SK closes Plug Power deal, makes foray into Asian fuel cell and hydrogen market
SK Holdings CEO Jang Dong-hyun, right, poses with Plug Power CEO Andrew J. Marsh, on screen, during a deal-closing ceremony on SK Holdings' acquisition of a 10 percent stake in Plug Power, Thursday. From left are SK E&S Vice Chairman Yu Jeong-joon, SK E&S President Choo Hyeong-wook, Marsh and Jang. Courtesy of SK Holdings
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
SK Holdings held a deal-closing ceremony with fuel cell and hydrogen technology company Plug Power, after the SK Group holding firm acquired a 10 percent stake in the U.S. firm for $1.6 billion.
Following the closure, the two sides will establish a joint venture to build fuel cell and electrolysis facilities in Korea and supply hydrogen services to the Asian market.
SK Holdings CEO Jang Dong-hyun, SK E&S Vice Chairman Yu Jeong-joon and Plug Power CEO Andrew J. Marsh attended the online ceremony, Thursday.
“Since last year, SK Group has been actively pursuing ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) values in running businesses, exemplified by the joining of the RE100 campaign, and building a hydrogen value chain is at the center of our eco-friendly business portfolio,” Jang said during the ceremony. “We hope the cooperation with Plug Power will bear fruit.”
“Plug Power has been aggressively building out the hydrogen economy in North America,” Marsh said. “And it is clear that our partner, SK, shares the same vision to build out a big hydrogen economy in Asia.”
The joint venture between SK Group and Plug Power is initially designed to construct electrolysis facilities and mass production infrastructure for fuel cell systems here by 2023, and then to supply them to domestic and Asian markets at low cost. Particularly in China, the joint venture is set to pursue a collaboration with a state-run power company on a hydrogen and fuel cell system, as well as joining a carmaker to supply fuel cell systems for vehicles.
SK Holdings refused to name its Chinese partners.
“Through the venture, we are looking forward to suggesting a number of business opportunities available in the Asian market to Chinese partners,” an SK official said.
Plug Power is focusing on bolstering its presence in the European market, raising expectations for synergy with SK. Earlier this year, Plug Power formed joint ventures with France's Renault and Spain's Acciona.