Hydrogen energy has entered the global spotlight as a solution to the climate change caused by atmospheric pollution.
The Hyundai Nexo, a hydrogen-powered vehicle, has a range of 609 km per charge while being superbly environmentally friendly, powered by electricity generated through reacting hydrogen with oxygen in the atmosphere. Hydrogen fuel cells have great scaling potential in a variety of areas, including homes, buildings, electrical power generation and ocean-going vessels.
To secure a stable supply of hydrogen to meet the growing demand in the steelworks industry, while preparing for the hydrogen-based society of the future, Hyundai Steel completed its hydrogen plant and began commercial operations in February 2016. The hydrogen plant is charged with purifying COG (Coke Oven Gas), a byproduct of the coke production process at steel mills, into 99.999% pure hydrogen.
COG is pre-treated using an electric precipitator and activated carbon tower to remove tar, sulfur and gas byproducts, and then is subjected to TSA (Temperature Swing Adsorption) and PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption), which make use of temperature and pressure differentials to remove foreign material such as moisture, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen and leave behind highly pure hydrogen.
Overview of Hyundai Steel’s Hydrogen Plant Project
Hyundai Steel plans to produce even safer and purer hydrogen to ensure a stable supply of fuel for hydrogen-powered vehicles. In the mid-to-long term, the company’s annual hydrogen production capacity, which is currently 3,500 tons a year, will be boosted by an order of magnitude to 37,000 tons annually. This is enough to operate some 175,000 Nexo vehicles year-long. Hyundai Steel is also examining other differentiated and environmentally friendly means of hydrogen production, using byproduct gases from the converter process in addition to the conventional coke production process.
For a decade since the steelworks began operation, the Hyundai Steel has explored various options for recycling the waste gases and byproducts that occur in steelworks processes. In May of this year, in recognition of such efforts, the company was named an Outstanding Carbon Management Company by the Korean committee of the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project). Through mid-to-long- term R&D into hydrogen and environmentally friendly energy, Hyundai Steel aims to become the world’s most environmentally friendly steelworks and establish itself as a leader in the hydrogen society of the future.