German energy company RWE has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hyundai Engineering & Construction to develop offshore wind and green hydrogen in South Korea.

Hyundai and RWE will work together to develop offshore wind projects in the country.

The plans are in line with South Korea’s goal to attain net-zero emissions by 2050 and its strategy to grow its renewables capacity to 108.3GW by 2036.

Wind will constitute 34.1GW of the total renewables capacity, with 24GW expected to come from offshore wind.

The two companies envision a joint exploration of business opportunities in the sector on a global scale.

Subject to favourable market conditions, they plan to leverage Hyundai’s experience in hydrogen from its first Korean electrolysis plant and RWE’s expertise across the entire hydrogen value chain for the development of future green hydrogen projects.

Hyundai Engineering and Construction CEO Young-joon Yoon stated: “The world is now at a critical crossroads in the energy transition. I expect our collaboration with global leader RWE to be a remarkable step in meeting the demands of the times.

“We will continue to develop sustainable energy solutions to lead the domestic offshore wind industry and create new business opportunities in the renewable energy sector through the long-term partnership with RWE.”

RWE offshore wind CEO Sven Utermöhlen stated: “As RWE we are honoured to partner with Hyundai E&C, one of the most prominent and respected companies in Korea and beyond. Korea is one of the most attractive markets for the development of offshore wind and green hydrogen.

“In Hyundai E&C we have a strong partner at our side who shares our values and ambition to drive the growth of green energy. Together, we will be able to achieve even more to advance the energy transition – for the benefit of society and our stakeholders.”

In July 2023, RWE, Japan’s Mitsui and the Port of Tilbury, UK, agreed on the development of a new hydrogen project at the port.

A small-scale demonstrator project will be built as part of the development to produce green hydrogen.

At the same time, an initial study will be conducted for a 10MW plant to be developed at the port, on land previously used for a coal-fired power station.

The 10MW hydrogen plant will be developed into a 100MW plant over a ten-year period.

The generated hydrogen will be used for port infrastructure and operations and supplied to other industries in the surrounding area.