RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund signed a MoU with Korea's Posco and Samsung C&T to develop a new green hydrogen production plant.
The MoU’s main objective is to complete project feasibility for an export oriented green hydrogen project, the PIF said in a statement.
The three party MoU was signed during the Saudi-Korean Investment Forum held in Riyadh, which took place during the visit of the President of the Republic of Korea, to the Kingdom.
The cooperation between the three entities is set to contribute to a giant leap in the reduction of carbon emissions, as well as the transfer of knowledge and expertise between Saudi Arabia and South Korea.
This collaboration goes well with PIF’s 2021-2025 strategy, which aims to develop new and promising sectors, the PIF said.
“PIF welcomes this collaboration with POSCO and Samsung C&T, which is in line with PIF’s intent to increase its investments in green hydrogen and other sustainability-linked projects. PIF plays a vital role in realizing the Kingdom’s aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060 and this partnership is a natural and significant extension to activities already underway” said Yazeed Al-Humied, Deputy Governor and Head of MENA Investments at PIF.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the potential to produce some of the lowest cost renewable energy in the world and is one of the most important countries for POSCO, which is planning to develop significant hydrogen production operations” said Yoo, Byeong-Og the Head of industrial gases and hydrogen business unit of POSCO.
“Samsung C&T is expanding its capability across the entire value chain from production to utilization, by focusing on hydrogen at the center of future energy. Samsung C&T will be a close partner to Saudi Arabia, with aims to help position the Kingdom to be one of the largest hydrogen exporters globally” said Oh Se-chul, the President and CEO of Samsung C&T Engineering & Construction Group.
Samsung C&T is a leading South Korean construction company that specializes in building, infrastructure and plant businesses, while POSCO is the largest steel manufacturer in South Korea. PIF acquired a 38 percent stake in POSCO E&C in 2015, which is one of the affiliates of POSCO.
Additionally, POSCO and Samsung C&T signed a Master Service Agreement covering technical development of liquid nitrogen for global green hydrogen production and storage in November 2021. POSCO promotes hydrogen production projects with the vision of becoming a top 10 global hydrogen producer, producing approximately 7 million tons of hydrogen in 2050 through initially targeting 0.5 million tons of hydrogen production.
