[Courtesy of South Chungcheong Province]
SEOUL -- A new industrial pier equipped with large ammonia storage tanks and liquid cargo ship berthing facilities will be built on reclaimed land near an industrial park in Dangjin, about 80 kilometers (49.7 miles) southwest of Seoul. When completed in 2030, the pier will be able to handle two million tons of ammonia per year.
In a ceremony on December 2 at the office of Kim Tae-heum, governor of South Chungcheong Province, nine companies agreed to invest about 450 billion won ($346 million) from 2024 to 2030 in the construction of a pier by reclaiming 187,000 square meters of water in the port of Dangjin. The pier will have four 40,000-ton ammonia storage tanks and berthing facilities for 50,000-ton and 30,000-ton liquid cargo ships.
"Large-scale carbon emission facilities such as coal-fired power generation and industrial complexes are concentrated in the area around Dangjin Port," Kim said in a statement. "The creation of the hydrogen pier will be a great help in driving the development of an eco-friendly energy industry led by a hydrogen economy, creating a sustainable growth engine and promoting carbon neutrality in South Chungcheong Province."
Nine companies involved in the Dangjin pier project included HDC Hyundai Industrial Development, Korea Gas Technology Corporation, Samsung C&T, two Lotte Group units, and two state power companies.
Ammonia is considered an essential part of a sustainable hydrogen ecosystem due to its stability in supply and relatively easy storage and transportation. Ammonia can be used directly as a fuel in high-temperature fuel cells, internal combustion engines and gas turbines. Ammonia cracking is the process of decomposing ammonia into hydrogen and nitrogen over a catalyst to increase the range of possibilities for utilizing ammonia as an energy vector.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
