Defining Moments: How Hanwha is Aligning with
COP27 in the Fight Against Climate Change

While the goals of the COP are broad, at the core is a transition to clean energy—one that could slow the rise of temperatures and ward off the worst of a climate disaster.

Hanwha is leading that transition, with a variety of clean tech solutions in solar, wind, and hydrogen. At the same time, it’s helping create the private-public alignment needed to speed up the transition.

“Working together is not just important, it’s imperative. Cross-sector collaboration between government, civil society, and the private sector is truly at the center of shaping the global climate agenda,” said Dong Kwan Kim, CEO of Hanwha Solutions in a recent interview with Bloomberg Media Studios.

Hanwha is filling out its role as an agent of change for the clean energy transition, tapping its innovations in materials and clean tech equipment to make clean tech more affordable and more effective. In recent months it has even begun reorganizing to deepen its green energy commitments, aligning its businesses, technology and partnerships with the sustainability goals of multilateral organizations who help set the world’s targets on climate change. That cooperation can make global meetings and international commitments more effective in fighting climate change, turning policies into solutions that cut carbon emissions.

But renewable energy and clean tech have more to offer than just pushing back against climate change. They can also improve energy security for nations at a time when we need it most.

While a diverse portfolio is key to abating climate change and to energy security, one energy source in particular is gaining momentum for its potential to aid in the energy transition: hydrogen.

As a clean energy source that produces zero carbon emissions, hydrogen has the potential to help even hard-to-abate industries like iron, steel and cement get cleaner. And the fact that it’s so abundant (it can be made from regular water) is giving both the private sector and government policy makers hope that hydrogen will play a major role in the future clean energy mix.

“That’s why we’re so committed to bringing new climate technologies in the solar and hydrogen arena to the world and making them more accessible,” Kim told Bloomberg Media Studios.

Hanwha is already making hydrogen a bigger part of its own clean energy plans, investing in research to find cost-effective ways to produce green hydrogen at scale. The ultimate goal is a closed loop of clean energy production that will make hydrogen a truly green fuel source from the ground up. With its vast clean energy solar and wind resources, Hanwha is laying the groundwork for future green hydrogen production.

But until green hydrogen becomes a viable energy source, Hanwha is pursuing other innovations that can help businesses reduce carbon emissions in the more immediate term by transitioning existing infrastructure to use cleaner hydrogen. Major breakthroughs in hydrogen mixed gas turbine retrofitting technology, or H2GT, as well as hydrogen storage technology are putting the company ahead of the curve.

Building on its previous success retrofitting a gas turbine in the southern Netherlands, Hanwha Impact began work earlier this year to retrofit two gas turbines to burn a combination of gas and hydrogen—one in the U.S., and one in the Netherlands.

Working with Dutch subsidiary Thomassen Energy, Hanwha Impact will turn a 123-megawatt gas turbine in Rotterdam, Netherlands into a mixed combustion turbine that will burn over 30% hydrogen. Meanwhile, the company will also retool part of the Linden Generating Station in New Jersey with Power Systems Mfg. (PSM)—another of its subsidiaries—to burn a mixture of 40% hydrogen and 60% natural gas. These projects will allow Rotterdam and New Jersey to lower emissions and move closer to net zero.

In storage, Hanwha Cimarron is contributing its advanced hydrogen storage solutions to major U.S. projects. In June this year, it finalized a purchase order with global energy leader Shell to provide them with its flagship Neptune tanks, supporting Shell as it builds out its own hydrogen refueling infrastructure across California. Neptune tanks are renowned for their anti-buckling technology, allowing them to be fully emptied without buckling.

With those innovations, Hanwha is well-positioned as a partner that can help the COP and other organizations turn their policies from words to action, with real solutions to cut emissions and help fight climate change.