A lithium and boron plant project in Nevada, in which Korean corporations will participate, is moving into full swing.
On the 8th, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Vice Minister Kim Ei-tak will attend a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the "Nevada lithium and boron plant" in Washington, D.C., on the 7th (local time).
This project is the first of the energy infrastructure construction projects identified during a meeting on Jan. 5 between Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary James Danly. Initially expected to proceed centered on U.S. construction firms, the project secured participation opportunities for Korean corporations as the Korean government proactively provided policy finance.
Before the MOU signing, Vice Minister Kim held talks with U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary Kyle Houghtvedt. The U.S. side proposed additional local energy cooperation projects during the meeting. In response, Vice Minister Kim said the ministry would link Korean corporations capable of participating in those projects and support project structuring.
The two sides also agreed to continue discussions on building a long-term cooperative relationship and cooperation plans for the development of U.S. energy infrastructure projects, while enhancing mutual understanding through various exchanges going forward.
At the subsequent MOU signing ceremony, the participation of Korean corporations in the Nevada lithium and boron plant project was formalized. Cooperation will proceed among Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), Hyundai Engineering, and developer Ioneer.
KIM Bok-hwan, president of KIND, said, "By securing the stability of this project through policy finance support, which is KIND's core strength, we will spare no effort to help excellent domestic construction companies make joint inroads into the global infrastructure market going forward."
LEE Seung-dong, head of the petrochemical business division at Hyundai ENG, said, "With Korea joining a structure centered on U.S. construction firms to become a key player in building the supply chain, we will use this as an opportunity to widely promote our company's unrivaled technological prowess in the North American market and firmly establish the status of Korean construction in the future energy infrastructure market."
Vice Minister Kim emphasized, "Going forward, we will keep high-level government-to-government (G2G) cooperation channels operating at all times and organically link policy and financial investments to serve as a reliable partner so that our construction corporations with outstanding capabilities can lead high value-added, investment-development projects in the core U.S. infrastructure market."