ACWA Power, POSCO partner to develop green hydrogen in South Korea

The MoU seeks to decarbonise POSCO Group’s power generation.

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and POSCO Holdings have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop green hydrogen in a bid to decarbonise POSCO Group’s power generation. 

The MoU will cover the development of green hydrogen derivatives, such as green ammonia. It will also apply to other POSCO Group operations, particularly its steel manufacturing processes. 

“With tangible project commitments in Saudi Arabia and Oman, ACWA Power is at the forefront of scaling up green hydrogen, whose output—ammonia—will lead to the outcome of decarbonising entire industries, including hard to abate industrial activities like steel manufacturing,” Paddy Padmanathan, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at ACWA Power, said.

POSCO Group noted that the project will help support its ambitious target to produce 500,000-tonne of hydrogen across the globe by 2030.

The Group’s output will be used in applications in its power generation needs, construction, and energy operations in South Korea amongst others. 

POSCO, as of 2021, has the capacity to produce 42.9 million metric tonnes of steel. It remains the sixth largest steel producer in the world and largest in South Korea. 

Meanwhile, ACWA Power is currently developing the first at-scale green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia, which is expected to produce 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia annually. The project, set for completion in 2026, is intended to help decarbonise industries.