[Company Insight] Airrein Receives 'Love Calls' from European Shipbuilders... Quadruples Production Capacity

Securing a Growth Foundation with Long-Term Contracts in Europe
Expanding Business to Biogas, CCUS, and Ionomer Recycling

Airrain Cheongju New Plant.

As you step into Airrein's new factory in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, rows of facilities producing gas separation membrane modules are operating at full capacity. This is to keep up with the surge in orders since the plant was completed in July. Airrein expanded its Cheongju plant after its Ochang plant, despite being fully operational 24 hours a day, could not meet demand. The company plans to increase production capacity by about four times compared to the existing level.

The reasons behind this expansion were clear on site. Demand for gas separation membrane modules is rapidly increasing, particularly among European shipbuilding companies. Airrein recently signed a long-term supply contract with a major European nitrogen generator manufacturer, and expects to generate related sales starting in the second half of this year. In addition, replacement demand from existing clients is also increasing, making it difficult to handle the growing number of orders with current production capacity.

Airrein is the only company in Korea that develops and manufactures modules and systems for selectively separating gases using hollow fiber membranes made from polymer materials. The company supplies membrane modules equipped with gas separation membranes housed within, as well as systems that include these modules. The main application areas currently are nitrogen generation, biogas upgrading, and carbon dioxide capture.

Last year, Airrein reported sales of 28.1 billion won, up 14.6% year-on-year, and achieved an operating profit of 3.1 billion won. In just the first half of this year, the company posted sales of about 13.9 billion won and operating profit of 1.9 billion won, demonstrating a solid profit structure. Among these, membrane sales serve as the core cash cow, accounting for more than 80% of total revenue. This year, membrane sales are expected to grow by about 50% compared to the previous year.

This strong performance is backed by the overwhelming competitiveness of its gas separation membrane business. The gas separation membrane market requires a high level of technical expertise, and worldwide, only a very small number of companies—including Airrein—have successfully mass-produced these products, making it a supplier-dominated (shortage) market.

China is one of Airrein's key markets. Airrein supplies nitrogen generation modules to coal mines, oil and natural gas facilities, and electric buses in China. Nitrogen is used to prevent explosions in coal mines and prevent oxidation in the oil and gas sector. Airrein exports products to 27 countries worldwide, not just China.

The main driver of recent growth is the European shipbuilding industry. Nitrogen is used in ships to reduce the risk of fire and explosion, and Airrein's gas separation membranes are highly competitive in ships where mobility and space efficiency are crucial. Airrein has already signed a long-term supply contract with a major European nitrogen generator manufacturer for ships and expects to see related sales in earnest from the second half of this year.

In line with this, the company is aggressively increasing production capacity. Airrein completed its new Cheongju plant in July and plans to expand the number of production lines from the current 12 to 18 by the end of this year. Furthermore, if the 'high-margin new product', which is expected to complete development this year, is launched, the company intends to expand to a maximum of 24 lines by 2027.

Ha Sungyong, CEO of Airlane, is explaining the gas separation membrane module at the new Cheongju plant.

The company is also accelerating into new business areas. Biogas upgrading is a business that removes impurities from biogas generated from organic waste, allowing it to be used as city gas and more. Airrein has supplied upgrading systems to various biogas facilities across Korea and has secured project references in locations such as Chungju, Uijeongbu, Asan, and Siheung.

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is being expanded beyond collection to the commercialization of liquefied carbon dioxide. Last year, CCUS project orders were delayed due to sluggish demand from downstream industries such as steel and petrochemicals, and system sales in the first half of this year also fell short of expectations. However, the company is currently supplying carbon dioxide capture systems to companies such as Lotte Chemical, and is working to diversify its client base by advancing projects that liquefy captured carbon dioxide for distribution to industries such as food retail and shipbuilding.

Another new growth engine is ionomer recycling. This business involves recovering and regenerating ionomers used in fuel cells and water electrolysis, then supplying them as materials. Airrein anticipates that the recycling market will expand due to limited supply of PFAS-based materials and tighter environmental regulations. The company is constructing production facilities with the goal of starting mass production in the second half of next year, and is targeting annual sales of 20 billion to 22 billion won over the long term.

Haseong Yong, CEO of Airrein, stated, "The gas separation membrane market has extremely high entry barriers, making it an attractive market with only a handful of global players. By securing overwhelming production capacity through the expansion of our new Cheongju factory and by expanding into high value-added new business areas, we aim to become the world's leading 'global eco-friendly energy solutions provider'.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.