SK Ecoplant’s US partner Bloom forays into Germany

SK Ecoplant, the construction and energy arm of SK Group, said Monday that its US partner Bloom Energy has signed a supply deal for solid-oxide fuel cells, or SOFCs, with energy conglomerate EnBW, its first customer in Germany, with an aim to expand its presence in the European market.

Under the agreement, Bloom Energy will provide 300 kilowatts of SOFCs to the geothermal plant of Geothermie-Gesellschaft Bruchsal, the affiliate of EnBW in Bruchsal, southern Germany.

Since 2018, SK Ecoplant has been engaged in a strategic relationship with Bloom Energy, the leading solid-oxide platform for electricity and hydrogen production. The two companies established a joint venture, Bloom SK Fuel Cell, in 2020, to run a SOFCs manufacturing plant at home.

According to a Frost & Sullivan release in June, Bloom Energy also topped the Stationary Fuel Cell Growth Opportunities report, with a 44 percent global market share in SOFCs.

Following its previous contracts with Italian car manufacturer Ferrari, London-based oil company Perenco and Latvian power plant Elugie, the new supply deal in Germany will further accelerate the growth of Bloom Energy in the European energy market.

The US company is also providing SOFCs to about 100 global customers, including Apple, Google and Microsoft.

As a combined heat and power energy server, SOFCs are attractive to markets looking for high efficiency, low emissions and reliable power.

With SOFCs, the platforms can generate clean heat at temperatures greater than 350 degrees Celsius -- which otherwise would be wasted -- to feed the heating grid. This makes for an efficiency level of around 90 percent.

SOFCs are expected to reach a global market value of $6.8 billion by 2033, with annual growth of 25.1 percent, according to a report by IDTechEX in May.

“Renowned for its high efficiency, SOFCs are now leading the global fuel cells industry,” said Lee Wang-jae, managing director of SK Ecoplant’s eco energy business unit. “Further advancing our vision on the hydrogen economy, SK Ecoplant will strengthen its partnership with Bloom Energy."