Samsung Active Asset Management said on the 12th it will list the KoACT Hydrogen Power ESS Infrastructure Active ETF on the 13th as its first new product of 2026, investing in Korea's key corporations related to hydrogen power facilities and energy storage systems (ESS).
According to Samsung Asset Management, the recent spread of artificial intelligence (AI) has sharply increased power demand in the United States, spreading a move, centered on large data centers, to build in-house generation facilities instead of relying on existing power grids. While large nuclear or gas power plants take years to build, hydrogen fuel cells and ESS can be installed in a relatively short period, a point that is drawing attention.
In particular, starting in 2026, as requirements to use non-Chinese equipment are strengthened to qualify for IRA tax credit, the potential for Korea's corporations to benefit is also being discussed. Battery affiliates of LG and Samsung are converting their U.S. production lines for ESS use, and VINATech and KOSES have secured orders from Bloom Energy.
Unlike existing secondary-battery ETFs, this ETF is composed of a portfolio that encompasses ESS and the overall hydrogen power infrastructure. In the ESS sector, SeoJin System and HANJUNG NCS are included, and VINATech and KOSES were added as fuel cell parts companies. In addition, corporations related to power infrastructure such as Doosan Enerbility, which is developing hydrogen power turbines, BHI, a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) company, and SNT Energy are included.
Kim Hyo-sik, head of portfolio management team 2 at Samsung Active Asset Management, said, "2026 will be the first year when the competition by U.S. big tech to secure power spreads to building on-site generation infrastructure," and added, "We will actively invest in Korea's core hydrogen and ESS corporations that can directly benefit from the U.S. IRA policy, which has become the global standard, to pursue differentiated returns."