Utility, the off-gas-to-value company commercializing its proprietary H2Gen H₂ production system, announced a joint project development agreement with Kunwha E&C, a leading Korean engineering firm. The agreement establishes a strategic partnership to provide engineering services for the development and deployment of multiple H₂ production plants that convert biogas into clean, affordable, carbon-negative H₂ using Utility’s breakthrough H2Gen technology.

This agreement directly supports South Korea’s H₂ Economy Roadmap, which prioritizes biogas and H₂ 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.

Kunwha 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, Kunwha is positioning itself as a leader in the Korean industrial decarbonization journey by embracing technology innovations like H2Gen to bring economic, carbon-negative H₂ to the mobility market from biogas producers.

Under the agreement, Utility and Kunwha will collaborate on deploying H2Gen H₂ plants across Korea. The initial projects will be on creating regional biogas-to-H₂ hubs to supply power for heavy-duty mobility applications, such as H₂ fuel cell buses, trucks, and trams. The partnership represents a shared commitment to developing profitable, scalable projects that strengthen the full biogas-to-H₂ value chain.

“Kunwha, as a leading independent engineering services company, is dedicated to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy-duty mobility,” stated Ju Seob Lee, Vice-Chairman of Kunwha’s Mechanical & Electrical division. “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 H₂ 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 H₂ compared to competing technologies, enabling many industries to meet both sustainability and business goals.

H2Gen benefits in mobility Include:

• Direct biogas conversion to H₂: 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 H₂ 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 H₂ post-treatment required

“With our H2Gen technology, Utility can contribute meaningfully to South Korea’s leading position in the global H₂ economy,” stated Parker Meeks, Chief Executive Officer and President of Utility. “South Korea’s regulatory and incentive environment is highly supportive of innovation, and our collaboration with Kunwha enables local, onsite H₂ 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.