Hanwha Power Systems Wins US 'R&D 100 Award'

Commercialization of Supercritical CO2 Power Generation System
The Only Domestic Company in Machinery and Materials Sector to Receive Award

Yang Won-hyeok, head of Hanwha Power Systems Corporation (center), is taking a commemorative photo with officials at the 'R&D 100 Awards' held on the 17th (local time) in California, USA.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Hanwha Power Systems' supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) engine has been recognized for its innovative technology.

Hanwha Power Systems announced on the 21st that it received an award at the 'R&D 100 Awards' held on the 17th (local time) in California, USA. Sponsored by R&D World Magazine, this event selects the 100 most innovative technologies of the previous year and is known as the 'Oscars of Innovation.'

The 'integrated gear-type supercritical CO2 engine,' which integrates a compressor and turbine, heats and pressurizes carbon dioxide above its critical point to create a supercritical state that exhibits both liquid and gas properties, then generates electricity by driving a turbine through a power generation cycle. It boasts higher efficiency compared to steam turbines and can be miniaturized, drawing attention as a groundbreaking next-generation power conversion technology.

Hanwha Power Systems has achieved world-class high-temperature and high-pressure technology with a megawatt (MW)-scale system capable of operating at temperatures up to 720℃. It is expected to be applied to various systems such as waste heat recovery power generation, solar power generation, and small modular reactors (SMRs) in the future.

Hanwha Power Systems won a solar power system development project from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2015 and signed a contract last year to supply the world's first MW-class supercritical CO2 power generation system with Heliogen, a company supported by the Bill Gates Foundation.

A Hanwha Power Systems official said, "We are currently conducting demonstrations of the supercritical CO2 power generation system with Heliogen, and domestically, we have signed mutual cooperation agreements on supercritical CO2 power generation systems with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Hyundai Engineering," adding, "We will strive toward the commercialization of the supercritical CO2 power generation system."