A lithium-boron plant project in the US state of Nevada involving Korean companies is moving into full swing.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) Wednesday, First Vice Minister Kim Yi-tak will attend the signing ceremony for the "Nevada Lithium-Boron Plant" memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Washington on Tuesday.
The project is the first of the energy infrastructure construction projects identified by MOLIT Minister Kim Yun-duk during a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly on Jan. 5. Originally set to be led by local US construction firms, the project secured participation opportunities for Korean companies after the Korean government preemptively provided policy financing.
Ahead of the MOU signing ceremony, Vice Minister Kim held a meeting with US Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit. During the meeting, the US side proposed additional local energy cooperation projects. In response, Kim said he would connect Korean companies capable of participating in those projects and support their structuring.
The two sides also agreed to enhance mutual understanding through various exchanges going forward, while continuing discussions on building long-term cooperative relationships and cooperation measures for the development of US energy infrastructure projects.
At the subsequent MOU signing ceremony, the participation of Korean companies in the Nevada lithium-boron plant project was formalized. Cooperation will proceed among the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), Hyundai Engineering, and the developer Ioneer.
"By providing policy financing support, which is KIND's core competency, we will secure the stability of this project, and we will spare no effort to help outstanding domestic construction companies jointly advance into the global infrastructure market going forward," KIND President Kim Bok-hwan said.
"As Korea has joined the US construction firm-led structure and is now accompanying it as a key player in supply chain building, we will use this as an opportunity to widely promote our unrivaled technology in the North American market and firmly establish the standing of Korean construction in the future energy infrastructure market," said Lee Seung-dong, head of Hyundai Engineering's plant division.
"We will continue to operate high-level government-to-government (G2G) cooperation channels at all times, and organically link policy and financial investment so that our highly capable construction companies can lead high-value-added investment development projects in the US core infrastructure market, fulfilling our role as a strong partner," Vice Minister Kim stressed.
