If battery material is one of Lotte Chemical’s new growth engines, hydrogen is the other.
Hwang Jin-goo, the firm’s CEO, stated, “Lotte Chemical is the most confident company in the hydrogen market since it produces the most by-product hydrogen in Korea (70,000 tons per year). Hwang, the CEO, added, “Currently, we are nearing completion of a statewide merger of the hydrogen company, which was founded in the Chungcheong and Ulsan areas.
Lotte Chemical joined the hydrogen market last year, signing memorandums of understanding with global energy giants Air Liquid and SK Gas. It will work with Air Liquide to establish a hydrogen charging station business in Chungcheong, and it will work with SK Gas to develop a hydrogen charging station and fuel cell power generating company in Ulsan. Construction on these facilities is planned to begin this year, with hydrogen filling stations opening in 2023 and fuel cell power plants opening in 2024.
He said that “it is still a viable company” when it comes to hydrogen’s economic viability. “Right now, we can only generate money with byproduct hydrogen,” said CEO Hwang, “and we’re aiming for 3 trillion won in sales by 2030.” “We’ve met our objectives,” he said. By 2030, Lotte Chemical intends to invest around KRW 4.4 trillion in the hydrogen sector, with sales of KRW 3 trillion and an operating profit rate of 10%.
Carbon capture technology (CCU) is another project that should be prioritized. For the first time in a local chemical business, Lotte Chemical succeeded in a carbon dioxide (CO2) capture demonstration project employing a gas separation membrane last year. It intends to grow up, beginning with the installation of a 200,000-ton carbon capture facility at the Daesan factory.
In terms of the hydrogen ammonia industry, CEO Hwang expressed excitement for the Sarawak project, which is being pursued in collaboration with Samsung Engineering, POSCO, and Malaysian SEDC Energy. In Sarawak, Malaysia, a project is underway to produce 630,000 tons of green ammonia, 600,000 tons of blue ammonia, 460,000 tons of green methanol, and 7,000 tons of green hydrogen every year. watching.
“In order to improve its present business, Lotte Chemical has adopted market and raw material diversification as its key strategy,” said CEO Hwang, “and the Indonesian Line Project is a project that implements this following LC USA.” “In the end, new companies like batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture, and specialty will become more competitive,” he said.
