The Gwangju Free Economic Zone’s Energy Valley (Smart Energy Industrial District) is home to the urban high-tech industrial complex where Hogreen Air performed a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a hydrogen fuel cell facility.
Several Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers, including Hong Seong-ho, Lee Yong-bin, and Yoon Young-duk, as well as Lim Mi-ran and Lee Myung-no of the Gwangju City Council, Kim Jin-Cheol of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone’s Commissioner, Tony Clemson of the British Embassy, and David Woolhouse of Intelligent Energy (IE) in the UK, were present at the groundbreaking ceremony. Additionally, representatives from business partners as well as local and international clients participated, including Wisbury Labs and LS Electric in the UK. Related businesses including Nikkei Business Publications, a division of the Nikkei Shimbun, and Japanese Hanshin Machinery and Space Energy visited the location for coverage and attracted interest.
In Gwangju, Hogreen Air began as a drone business. It has developed into a business known for its cutting-edge technology after being successful in operating a drone in Gwangju, located 9042 kilometers distant from Silicon Valley, in October 2021. Since then, it has been working on building a hydrogen drone, and in 2020 it struck an exclusive distributor agreement in the UK with IE, a pioneer in the world of hydrogen fuel cells.
In order to produce 100kW hydrogen fuel cells and promote the production of fuel cells in the mobility sector, including drones, aviation, vehicles, and ships, Hogreen Air plans to start construction in December and invest 15 billion won in the Docheom Industrial Complex in Energy Valley. The project is expected to be finished in June of the following year. plan. In order to increase fuel cell efficiency and safety, the business intends to commercialize fuel cell systems that may be utilized in small and medium-sized hydrogen power plants. It will also concentrate on hydrogen liquefaction.
On this day, the British Embassy in Korea, Hogreen Air, IE, and Gwangju City inked an agreement for “commercial collaboration for the establishment of a hydrogen industrial ecosystem with the British government” in addition to the groundbreaking ceremony. They decided to work together to develop the hydrogen fuel cell sector and build a Gwangju ecosystem for the hydrogen industry, including the manufacturing of high-power and high-efficiency fuel cells.
“Through clean energy, we will create a better living and a green future where everyone is at the center,” CEO Hong Seong-ho stated.
“I am pleased that a firm specialized in fuel cells, which is the foundation of the hydrogen sector, one of the 11 important industries in Gwangju, has established itself in the Free Economic Zone,” said Kim Jin-Cheol, the head of the Gwangju Free Economic Zone Authority. In order to grow the hydrogen sector and create an ecosystem, we will make every effort to entice investment and assist local businesses.
