Doosan Fuel Cell Collaborates with Shell and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering to Develop Fuel Cells for Ships

Application of Mid-Low Temperature SOFC Developed by Doosan Fuel Cell
Plan to Enter Ship Fuel Cell Market in 2025

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hye-young] Doosan Fuel Cell is partnering with multinational energy company Shell and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the intermediate holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group's shipbuilding division, to develop fuel cells for eco-friendly ships.

Doosan Fuel Cell announced on the 7th that it has signed a 'Letter of Intent (LOI) for Demonstration Cooperation of Fuel Cells for Ships' with these two companies. The three parties will form a consortium to develop and demonstrate fuel cells for ships, and plan to include shipowners, the actual owners of the ships, and classification societies that rate ships in the consortium in the future.

Under this agreement, Doosan Fuel Cell will manufacture and supply shipboard SOFC systems applying the mid-to-low temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) currently under development, and provide related services. The mid-to-low temperature SOFC being developed by Doosan Fuel Cell operates at 620 degrees Celsius, about 200 degrees lower than existing fuel cells, offering advantages such as longer expected lifespan and higher power efficiency.

Shell will be responsible for ship ordering, management, operation, and management of the shipboard SOFC demonstration project, while Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering will carry out the installation of shipboard SOFCs and modification and integration of ship systems.

The three companies plan to optimize the system by operating a ship on actual trade routes for over a year using a 600 kW shipboard SOFC as an auxiliary power unit (APU).

The industry expects the ship fuel cell market to expand significantly around 2030, when the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Stage 4, which mandates a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2008 levels, comes into effect.

Accordingly, Doosan Fuel Cell plans to develop mid-to-low temperature SOFCs by 2023, complete a 50 MW scale factory in the Saemangeum Industrial Complex to establish a mass production system, and enter the power generation SOFC market by 2024 while completing the development and classification certification of shipboard fuel cell systems to enter the shipboard SOFC market by 2025.

Jung Hyung-rak, president of Doosan Fuel Cell, said, "This cooperation among the three companies is an important starting point to accelerate Doosan Fuel Cell's shipboard fuel cell business and secure a leading position in the related market. We will do our best to achieve early results not only in the development of mid-to-low temperature SOFCs but also in new business areas such as mobility and hydrogen charging stations."

A representative from Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering also said, "We expect this cooperation to serve as an opportunity to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation power sources, namely shipboard fuel cell systems. We will continue to develop eco-friendly ship technologies and lead the eco-friendly ship sector."

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