SK Energy, the oil business subsidiary of SK Innovation, announced that it will cooperate with Doosan Fuel Cell and starts a joint development and industrialization of technologies to utilize hydrogen recharging fuel cells.
To do this, they plan to use the fuel cell business competence and hydrogen refining technologies/infrastructure each company possesses.
SK Energy entered a business agreement with Doosan Fuel Cell regarding “joint development and industrialization of technologies to utilize rechargeable hydrogen fuel cells” at SK Building in Jongno, Seoul, Korea on August 27th.
With this agreement, the two companies decided to enhance their cooperation in expanding eco-friendly distributed generation and hydrogen recharging base under the Korean government’s Green New Deal policy.
To do so, they agreed to collaborate on developing rechargeable fuel cells (Tri-gen) and high-purity hydrogen production system’s optimal connection technology, and also on the mutual industrialization of distributed generation and expansion of on-site hydrogen recharging base.
Following the agreement, the two companies held the first Technical Exchange Meeting (TEM) on October 27th at the Doosan Fuel Cell plant in Iksan, Korea to proceed with the joint technology development project. The event was attended by various representatives from both companies who are in charge of business development, research lab, and production plant.
At the TEM, the two companies shared their data on fuel cells and high-purity hydrogen refining technologies, and concretized milestones and objectives for industrialization. Also, they demonstrated the performance of Tri-gen cells at the Doosan Fuel Cell plant, emphasizing their intention and potential toward the success of the “joint development and industrialization of technologies to utilize rechargeable hydrogen fuel cells.”
Doosan Fuel Cell is a Korean fuel cell facility manufacturer that provides and operates more than 1,200 PAFCs (Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells) for 440kW power generation domestically and internationally. Especially, their under development project Tri-gen is a hydrogen recharging fuel cell that can generate electricity, heat, and hydrogen in urban areas simultaneously. It means that the cell will realize eco-friendly urban comprehensive energy stations for distributed generation and recharging of electricity and hydrogen at the same place.
Doosan Fuel Cell takes charge of developing technologies to improve the Tri-gen fuel cell’s performance that can be used for hydrogen recharge and the production and delivery as well. SK Energy plans to design and develop the technology to refine the hydrogen generated by Tri-gen fuel cells to very high purity hydrogen (over 99.97%), so it can be input into hydrogen vehicles.
Also, SK Energy will set up and operate comprehensive eco-friendly energy stations that allow distributed generation and recharge of electricity and hydrogen at the same place using the jointly developed “full package of hydrogen recharging fuel cells (Tri-gen cells and high-purity hydrogen-producing system).”
They will start to build their first comprehensive eco-friendly energy station made with their own technologies as soon as next year. This will help to promote the profitability of the existing hydrogen recharge stations that currently show a low profit and take a huge role in the expansion of the eco-friendly infrastructure supply in the future.
“We plan to expand building eco-friendly comprehensive energy stations through the joint development and industrialization of technologies to utilize hydrogen recharging fuel cells (Tri-gen),” said Oh Jong-hoon, President of SK Energy’s P&M (Platform & Marketing) CIC. He added, “We will accelerate promoting eco-friendly energy business to achieve Net Zero before 2050.”
