NK Ether's sales are on the verge of reaching 100 billion won.
…Wootuk, a leading manufacturer of ultra-large high-pressure vessels

▲Kim Young-seop, Head of Sales at NK Ether



Orders surge, securing production this year, and running production lines at full capacity 24/7.
Strict quality control reflecting customer requirements, strengthening differentiation from competitors
Opening of Seoul Office, Active Communication to Increase Customer Accessibility

[Editor's Note] NK Ether is Korea's sole manufacturer of Type 1 ultra-high-pressure steel pressure vessels, holding a 99% share of the domestic market for semiconductors. Orders for domestic hydrogen charging stations are skyrocketing. This year's production volume is already fully booked, and the company is working tirelessly to meet delivery deadlines, including operating its production line 24/7. In particular, the increase in domestic hydrogen charging stations and the resulting semiconductor boom are driving increased orders for specialty gases, leading to expectations of continued production and order growth. Furthermore, the company recently established an office in Seoul to improve customer accessibility and is actively expanding its business by recruiting specialized talent. These efforts are expected to help the company achieve its goal of KRW 100 billion in sales within three years. Accordingly, this magazine held an interview with Kim Young-seop, head of NK Ether's sales division, at the newly established NK Ether Seoul office to hear about this year's performance outlook and future plans.

■ Please introduce yourself to Enkeether.

Our company, NK Ether, is the only specialized manufacturer of ultra-large pressure vessels in Korea, which was established in May 2020 as an independent corporation through the spin-off of the ultra-large vessel business division of NK Group, a specialized manufacturer of pressure vessels.

The company already holds a unique technological position in the ultra-large pressure vessel sector, including ultra-high pressure vessels for efficient large-scale transport and storage of hydrogen, an eco-friendly energy source that can drastically reduce global carbon emissions and is currently emerging as a global hot topic, and special inner-processed vessels that can maintain the high purity of special gases used in semiconductor production, a key future industry.

It is also a world-class product certification company that is capable of continuous development thanks to the global boom in eco-friendly hydrogen energy and the semiconductor industry.

■ NK Ether is Korea’s only Type 1 container manufacturer. Please introduce your technical skills.

Enkeether possesses world-class technology in the ultra-large pressure vessel sector through accumulated know-how in various pressure vessel manufacturing technologies over the past 30 years and domestic and international technological developments such as carrying out various government projects.

First, we completed the development of ultra-high pressure pressure vessels with operating pressures of 500 and 875 bar, which are used to maintain stable charging pressure during the charging process of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that are charged at high pressures of 700 bar, and began the work of domestically producing replacements for hydrogen storage systems that were previously entirely imported from the United States.

Additionally, the 200-bar tube trailer used for hydrogen energy transport has been commercialized as a hydrogen transport model suitable for domestic transport through a design optimized for Korean road regulations.

Ultra-high purity special gases used in the semiconductor production process, a symbol of cutting-edge industry, must maintain their purity. To this end, the inside of the pressure vessel is polished to a mirror-like surface to almost completely remove moisture inside the vessel to less than 1 ppm. After product assembly, the company has been recognized for its technological prowess by global semiconductor companies such as Samsung and SK Hynix through thorough sealing and quality inspection to prevent moisture from penetrating from the outside.

Additionally, our company was selected by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a contractor for a national project related to the development of 1,000-bar hydrogen storage tanks and high-pressure hydrogen alloy steel pressure vessels, giving us the opportunity to develop next-generation technologies that will allow us to lead the market one step ahead.

■ What is the performance outlook for NK Ether this year?

In 2020, we secured a large-scale order for hydrogen transport equipment and high-pressure storage systems from the Russian Space Center, enabling us to operate our production line 24 hours a day without stopping.

This year, due to the rapid growth of the hydrogen business, increased operating rates of semiconductor manufacturers, and new investment plans, the production volume until the end of the year has already been fully achieved. It is secured and we are investing all our capabilities into meeting customer delivery deadlines.

Driven by a market environment where the hydrogen and semiconductor industries are expected to boom in the coming years, the company anticipates that sales will grow from 70 billion won this year to 100 billion won within three years.

■ As the hydrogen industry grows rapidly, demand for hydrogen cartridges is skyrocketing. The hydrogen cartridge market outlook and sales strategy for this are

Our government's hydrogen economy revitalization roadmap includes a mid- to long-term plan to build and operate 450 hydrogen charging stations nationwide by 2025 and 1,200 by 2040.

Demand for hydrogen cartridges supplied to hydrogen charging stations is also expected to grow rapidly through 2025, with continued growth thereafter.

Additionally, with the activation of the hydrogen industry to achieve global carbon neutrality, demand for hydrogen cartridges in Australia, Europe, the United States, and other countries is also expected to continue to increase.

By 2025, we will prioritize product delivery management through active communication with customers to meet the rapidly growing demand for hydrogen cartridges in line with our country's policies.

In addition, we are pursuing continuous growth in overseas markets beyond the domestic market by conducting various projects with overseas hydrogen-related companies in countries such as Australia, Europe, and the United States, which are expected to grow rapidly after 2023.

■ Demand is expected to be high not only for hydrogen but also for semiconductors and the aerospace industry due to the semiconductor supercycle.

Due to the increase in sales of IT devices caused by the non-face-to-face (untact) daily life and the expansion of cloud data servers by large companies, factory operating rates are increasing and new investments are being made at companies such as Samsung Semiconductor and SK Hynix.

As the use of semiconductor specialty gases increases due to the increase in semiconductor production, it is necessary to switch from the existing method of supplying by filling in 47-liter cylinders to the method of supplying by filling in Y-Ton cylinders and tube trailers, which are large containers produced by our company, in order to ensure the stability and efficiency of gas supply. Therefore, demand is expected to continue to increase in the future.

Our company is a major supplier of Y-Ton cylinders and tube trailer containers to Samsung Semiconductor and SK Hynix.The company is registered and in use.

In order to meet the increasing quality standards in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, where continuous miniaturization processes are taking place, we are implementing strict quality control that actively reflects the requirements of our customers, and as a result, we are further strengthening our differentiation from competitors.

We are currently working on a project with India for containers used in the aerospace industry, and we anticipate that demand will increase domestically in the future.

■ The role of the newly established Seoul office

Our company's headquarters are located in the Noksan Industrial Complex in Busan, making it difficult to access the metropolitan area and central region, where our major customers are located. The Seoul office was opened to improve accessibility and proactively communicate with our clients.

■ Please give us your final words.

Our company is committed to continuous technological development, building on the technological prowess we have accumulated over the past 30 years, to becoming the world's leading engineering company in the field of ultra-large pressure vessels.

We are establishing ourselves as a world-class high-pressure vessel manufacturer, not only domestically but also globally, in the fields of hydrogen transportation/storage systems, ultra-high-purity gas containers for semiconductors, natural gas transportation systems, and high-pressure storage systems for the aerospace industry.

Based on our belief in safely storing energy and value in top-quality containers, we will grow into a leading company in the global pressure vessel market.