Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Develops Ultra-Large Crude Oil Carrier Applying Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is accelerating its efforts to secure competitiveness in eco-friendly ship technology by successfully developing an ultra-large crude oil carrier (VLCC) equipped with solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology.

On the 21st, DSME announced that it received a Basic Approval in Principle (AIP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), one of the world’s leading classification societies, for the "Application of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell System to VLCC."

By replacing the existing generator engines with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) using the newly developed technology, power generation efficiency can be significantly improved, and greenhouse gas emissions can be drastically reduced.

Solid oxide fuel cells are low-carbon, high-efficiency renewable energy power generation systems that produce electricity through the electrochemical reaction of hydrocarbons, created by oxidizing LNG and other fuels, with oxygen.

During the development process, DSME focused on tasks such as ▲characterization of fuel cell stacks ▲estimation of system volume and weight ▲shipboard arrangement of the system ▲hazard zone designation and risk analysis ▲process simulation, and successfully passed ABS’s stringent standards to obtain the basic approval.

DSME has been dedicating efforts to developing eco-friendly ships equipped with greenhouse gas emission reduction technologies to proactively respond to the increasingly stringent environmental regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). With this approval, the company officially certifies the technical feasibility of the basic design of VLCCs equipped with solid oxide fuel cells, which is expected to secure a favorable position in future order competitions.

ABS is a certification and supervision organization in the shipbuilding and marine industry, and recently has been participating in the development of decarbonization technologies using advanced technologies and digital solutions.

In particular, DSME and ABS signed a Framework Agreement in 2019 to promote strategic cooperation related to future shipbuilding and offshore plant industry technologies and have jointly researched next-generation power systems. This project is the second following the development of the "SOFC-Gas Turbine Hybrid System utilizing high-temperature exhaust gas," and it has come to fruition after about a year of research.

Meanwhile, DSME is committed to developing decarbonized eco-friendly ship technologies such as fuel cells, lithium-ion battery ESS, new concept batteries, synchronous generators (SGM), and ammonia propulsion by establishing the LBTS (Land Based Test Site), an eco-friendly onshore testing facility, within its Siheung research complex.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.