BHI Expands Clean Hydrogen-Based Fuel Cell Demonstration Project... "Developing Ultra-High Efficiency Power Generation System"

BHI announced on the 22nd that it has officially begun demonstration work on the ‘Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC)’ power generation system, which is gaining attention as the next-generation fuel cell in the clean hydrogen business.

The SOFC power generation system project, conducted as a national project, primarily aims to apply it to ‘smart farms.’ BHI plans to develop a ‘carbon fuel cell-based ultra-high-efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) system’ in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Smart Farm Research and Development Project Group (KoSFarm), targeting the ‘Smart Farm Innovation Valley Demonstration Complex.’

BHI has previously succeeded in developing an ‘ultra-high-efficiency combined heat and power system’ using SOFC, which is recognized as the next-generation fuel cell. Last year, a ‘Smart Farm Multi-Ministry Package Innovation Technology Development’ project was carried out at the inter-ministerial level with a budget of 40.6 billion KRW covering 48 tasks, involving the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Rural Development Administration, and KoSFarm. BHI also participated in this project. The total number of participating companies and institutions, including BHI, reached 286.

BHI developed a 5kW-class SOFC system prototype and conducted its own performance tests, recording a power generation efficiency of 55% and an overall efficiency of 92%. The 55% power generation efficiency is close to the 59% recorded by leading U.S. companies, which is considered the world’s highest level. BHI plans to complete this demonstration project by December this year. Through this, it aims to verify the commercialization and business feasibility of smart farm power generation systems using clean hydrogen-based fuel cells.

The ultra-high-efficiency combined heat and power system is a clean power generation technology utilizing agricultural by-products such as waste paper based on SOFC, which can significantly contribute not only to reducing energy costs but also to carbon neutrality. If this demonstration applied to the ‘smart farm’ industry is successfully completed, it can be widely expanded and applied to the smart farm industry both domestically and internationally in the future.

A BHI official stated, “SOFC is the foundational technology for ‘Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC),’ which is gaining attention in the nuclear power field,” adding, “SOEC can create synergy with nuclear power generation such as Small Modular Reactors (SMR).” He further added, “If the smart farm demonstration application is successfully completed, the growth of the smart farm industry, which the government is fostering as a key industry, can gain further momentum.”

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