Doosan Fuel Cell ships first hydrogen fuel cells for power generation

Doosan Fuel Cell on Monday shipped four hydrogen fuel cells worth $13.2 million to China in what was marked as South Korea’s first export of the product.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Trade Monday, the fuel cells with a combined capacity of 1.8 megawatts will be installed at seven apartment buildings of 400 households and one commercial building in Foshan, Guangdong province. The fuel cells will generate heat and electricity.

The fuel cells were manufactured almost entirely with Korean-made parts, according to Doosan Fuel Cell, an affiliate under Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction.

A ceremony was held at the firm’s production base in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, to mark the first oversea shipment of the product.

The move falls in line with the Industry Ministry’s hydrogen roadmap announced in 2019, which aims to sell 7 gigawatts of fuel cells overseas.

“The export will allow Korea to take initiative in the market buoyed by the global trend of carbon neutrality and hydrogen economy,” a ministry official said.

Three major countries utilizing fuel cells are Korea, Japan and the US. In 2019, the trio installed 1.02 GW of fuel cells. The figure jumped to 1.54 GW in the first six months of this year.

A discussion is currently underway in the National Assembly to mandate power companies to generate a certain percentage of electricity with fuel cells to further boost the local industry.

Hydrogen fuel cells combine hydrogen with oxygen to create electricity and heat, with pure water as the only byproduct.

“The government will provide support so that (local companies) can cut the price of fuel cells to one-third by 2040 and lead the global market,” Park Ki-young, the energy vice minister, said during the ceremony held at Doosan Fuel Cell headquarters in Iksan.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)