Utility and Kunhwa E&C Partner to Launch Clean Hydrogen Projects in South Korea
HOUSTON, TX – July 1, 2025 – Utility, the off-gas-to-value company commercializing its proprietary H2Gen® hydrogen production system, today announced a joint project development agreement with Kunhwa E&C, a leading Korean engineering firm. The agreement establishes a strategic partnership to provide engineering services for the development and deployment of multiple hydrogen production plants that convert biogas into clean, affordable, carbon-negative hydrogen using Utility’s breakthrough H2Gen® technology.
This agreement directly supports South Korea’s Hydrogen Economy Roadmap, which prioritizes biogas and hydrogen as energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance waste management, and lower dependence on imported fossil fuels. South Korea is investing heavily in biogas projects to convert organic waste into clean energy, with an emphasis on practical technologies that can be deployed quickly and cost-effectively.
Kunhwa E&C is a comprehensive engineering and consulting company with expertise in large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects across Korea and internationally. As a leading EPC organization, Kunhwa is positioning itself as a leader in the Korean industrial decarbonization journey by embracing technology innovations like H2Gen to bring economic, carbon-negative hydrogen to the mobility market from biogas producers.
Under the agreement, Utility and Kunhwa will collaborate on deploying H2Gen hydrogen plants across Korea. The initial projects will be on creating regional biogas-to-hydrogen hubs to supply power for heavy-duty mobility applications, such as hydrogen fuel cell buses, trucks, and trams. The partnership represents a shared commitment to developing profitable, scalable projects that strengthen the full biogas-to-hydrogen value chain.
Ju Seob Lee, Vice-Chairman of Kunhwa’s Mechanical & Electrical division, stated :
Kunhwa, as a leading independent engineering services company, is dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty mobility,
“Our collaboration with Utility represents an important step towards this goal.”
H2Gen reactors decarbonize through a series of chemical reactions that produce valuable gas streams. For example, H2Gen produces hydrogen gas from water using the electrochemical energy contained in off-gases such as biogas or various steel production gases, without the need for electricity to drive the reaction. H2Gen systems have completely changed the economics and logistics of clean hydrogen compared to competing technologies, enabling many industries to meet both sustainability and business goals.
H2Gen Benefits in Mobility Include:
- Direct biogas conversion to hydrogen – No need to upgrade to renewable natural gas (RNG) for Steam Methane Reforming (SMR).
- Lower capital cost (CAPEX) – More cost-effective than RNG + SMR systems
- Compact footprint – Requires only about one-third of the space of traditional RNG/SMR systems
- No external power required – Significantly smaller than electrolyzers and operates without electricity
- Neutral to negative Carbon Intensity (CI) score – Strong alignment with Korea’s low-carbon hydrogen goals
- Modular and scalable – Factory-built units can operate at landfills, wastewater treatment plants, livestock farms, and other biogas sites
- Operational simplicity – Minimal biogas pre-treatment or hydrogen post-treatment required
Parker Meeks, Chief Executive Officer and President of Utility, stated :
With our H2Gen technology, Utility can contribute meaningfully to South Korea’s leading position in the global hydrogen economy,
“South Korea’s regulatory and incentive environment is highly supportive of innovation, and our collaboration with Kunhwa enables local, on-site hydrogen production that is both clean and economical. Together, we can accelerate decarbonization in the mobility sector, and extend that impact to steel, petrochemical, and other hard-to-abate industries.
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Utility and Kunhwa E&C Partner to Launch Clean Hydrogen Projects in South Korea, source
