[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] Park Jung-won, chairman of Doosan Group, expressed his ambition to secure core competencies related to hydrogen energy production and utilization and to actively foster the hydrogen business. He also announced plans to consolidate the capabilities of affiliated companies to preoccupy the hydrogen market at the group level and maximize synergy.
At the 'Korea H2 Business Summit' held on the 8th at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, Chairman Park said, "Doosan has led Korea's hydrogen power generation market in terms of hydrogen utilization and is expanding into areas such as turbines and drones," adding, "On the production side, we plan to actively grow by securing core competencies in green hydrogen production and hydrogen liquefaction plants."
The event was organized to launch a hydrogen company council for building Korea's hydrogen industry ecosystem. CEOs and company representatives from 15 member companies, including Hyundai Motor Group, SK Group, POSCO, and Doosan, attended to discuss ways to revitalize the hydrogen economy and achieve carbon neutrality.
Previously, Doosan Group has promoted extensive hydrogen technology cooperation with hydrogen company council members, including distributed hydrogen fuel cell power development (Hyundai Motor), hydrogen turbine demonstration projects (SK Gas), joint development of ammonia decomposition hydrogen turbine power generation technology (POSCO), cooperation on Daesan fuel cell power plant (Hanwha), and development of fuel cells for ships (Hyundai Heavy Industries).
Doosan Fuel Cell, Securing Hydrogen Market with Tri-Gen Technology
Doosan Group presented a roadmap to preoccupy the hydrogen market by maximizing synergies among its affiliates' hydrogen businesses, including hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen liquefaction plants, and hydrogen mobility. Doosan Fuel Cell, which possesses outstanding technology in the hydrogen fuel cell power generation sector, has achieved new orders worth 1 trillion KRW for three consecutive years and set a goal to reach sales of 1.5 trillion KRW in 2023.
Recently, the 'Tri-Gen' technology, which can simultaneously produce hydrogen, electricity, and heat, has attracted attention. Doosan Fuel Cell is participating in a government-public enterprise energy R&D cooperation project supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute, together with Korea Gas Corporation, focusing on development. Through this, it is expected to be applicable in various fields such as composite charging stations that can charge hydrogen and electricity simultaneously, hot water supply, and district heating.
FuelCell Power, a subsidiary of Doosan Co., Ltd., has completed the development of a 10kW solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) for buildings and homes with world-class power generation efficiency and plans to launch the product in 2022. This product has more than 40% higher power generation efficiency compared to existing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) products. Its size is similar to existing SOFC products under 5kW on the market, enabling the same power generation efficiency while reducing installation space by about 50% or more.
Doosan Heavy Industries Secures Hydrogen Production Technologies Including Hydrogen Liquefaction Plants
Doosan Group is also prominent in hydrogen production as well as utilization and distribution. Doosan Heavy Industries is accelerating the production of clean hydrogen such as blue hydrogen and green hydrogen. The hydrogen liquefaction plant under construction at the Changwon factory, scheduled for completion in 2022, will produce and utilize blue hydrogen (hydrogen produced through a process that captures and stores carbon generated during hydrogen extraction to minimize carbon emissions). It applies high-efficiency carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology to produce blue hydrogen.
Green hydrogen production using wind power is progressing smoothly on Jeju Island. In addition, clean hydrogen production using SMR (Small Modular Reactor), the next-generation nuclear power plant, is under consideration. Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, as well as nuclear power, are attracting attention domestically and internationally as power sources for clean hydrogen production because they do not emit carbon during power generation.
Furthermore, Doosan Heavy Industries is expanding its hydrogen gas turbine and hydrogen equipment business. Since May last year, it has been developing a 5MW-class hydrogen full combustion burner for hydrogen gas turbines using proprietary technology, and in parallel, it is developing a 300MW-class hydrogen co-firing burner for hydrogen gas turbines in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials.
Doosan Mobility Innovation Accelerates Development of Hydrogen Drones and Firefighting Hydrogen Robots
In the hydrogen mobility sector, Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI) boasts advanced technology. DMI developed the world's first hydrogen drone with dramatically extended flight time and has started mass production. The hydrogen drone has proven its performance in various situations such as emergency delivery to remote areas, gas pipeline monitoring, long-term forest surveillance, and maritime rescue.
DMI is also turning its attention to ground mobility after the sky. It recently signed a business agreement with Zhongxin Heavy Industry Kaicheng Intelligence, a robot specialist company that holds 70% of the Chinese firefighting robot market, to jointly develop firefighting hydrogen robots. Based on hydrogen fuel cell technology capable of supplying power for more than two hours, DMI plans to apply it to various forms of mobility such as logistics robots.
Doosan Mobility Innovation Soosodrone DS30 demonstrating a test flight / Photo by Doosan Mobility Innovation
Mandatory Hydrogen Power Generation System to be Introduced Next Year, Raising Expectations in Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Generation Industry
Doosan Group, specialized in hydrogen fuel cell power generation, is optimistic about the 'Hydrogen Power Generation Obligation System (HPS)' scheduled to be introduced next year. Once HPS is implemented, the order volume for hydrogen fuel cells is expected to increase rapidly in a short period.
According to Goldman Sachs, the global hydrogen market size is expected to expand to 12 trillion USD by 2050. Especially, thanks to the Biden administration's eco-friendly policies, expectations for growth in the U.S. hydrogen market are high. Doosan is intensifying its market penetration in the U.S. hydrogen market through Doosan Fuel Cell America, which focuses on PAFC products.
DMI, Doosan Fuel Cell, and Doosan Fuel Cell Power Co., Ltd. participated in the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Expo held in China last October, accelerating their efforts to pioneer the Chinese market. The three companies showcased products and services such as hydrogen fuel cell packs, hydrogen drones, and hydrogen fuel cells for homes, buildings, and power generation at the expo. Doosan Fuel Cell plans to actively pursue overseas market entry by leveraging Doosan Heavy Industries' global network.
A Doosan official stated, "If a synergy strategy emerges that presents a higher vision through the group's hydrogen TFT and consolidates the group's hydrogen capabilities, the group's hydrogen business will show even faster growth."
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