Doosan Co., Ltd. Expands Building Hydrogen Fuel Cell Lineup to Mobility

Direct Hydrogen Fuel Injection
Successful Demonstration by Energy Technology Institute

Doosan Corporation is diversifying its hydrogen fuel cell product lineup for mobility applications such as construction machinery and ships.

Doosan Corporation announced on the 30th that it has completed the development of the 1 kW and 10 kW class building and residential hydrogen fuel cell 'H2-PEMFC (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell)' system, which operates by directly injecting hydrogen fuel. It also obtained design and production stage certification for the fixed fuel cell safety standard 'KGS AH371.'

The newly developed H2-PEMFC system is a pure hydrogen model that directly injects hydrogen fuel rather than reforming natural gas. It can achieve a high electrical efficiency of around 50-55%. Since it operates at a lower temperature than other types of hydrogen fuel cells, it can quickly adjust power output in response to load fluctuations through load-following operation. The 1 kW and 10 kW class H2-PEMFC systems will be applied to the hydrogen town in Samcheok City, Gangwon Province, one of the first hydrogen pilot cities, and will be demonstrated until 2024. A 100 kW class H2-PEMFC system for small-scale distributed power generation is also planned for development by 2026.

Doosan Corporation is developing hydrogen fuel cells for mobility applications. Last year, Doosan began developing a '60 kW class hydrogen fuel cell powerpack for construction machinery' to be applied to Doosan Bobcat’s world-leading small construction equipment, the skid loader. The development and demonstration are planned to be completed by 2026.

Development of 100-200 kW class hydrogen fuel cells for ships is also underway. Doosan expects high demand for shipboard H2-PEMFCs, which offer high electrical efficiency and excellent load-following operation, especially for small and medium-sized vessels. The shipping sector is one of the most actively regulated fields for decarbonization. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) recently raised its carbon reduction target for the shipping sector from 50% to 100% by 2050. Hydrogen is gaining attention as one of the key alternatives to meet this goal.

1 kW-class (left) and 10 kW-class building and residential hydrogen fuel cell 'H2-PEMFC' systems that can be operated by directly injecting hydrogen [Photo by Doosan]

Recently, Doosan Corporation successfully demonstrated 'ammonia-extracted hydrogen-linked hydrogen fuel cell operation' in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) using the H2-PEMFC system. It was confirmed that power generation using hydrogen extracted from ammonia as fuel is comparable to that using conventional high-purity hydrogen.

Ammonia is a carbon-free fuel composed only of hydrogen and nitrogen. It can be easily liquefied under high pressure at room temperature, making it more advantageous for storage and transportation than liquefied hydrogen. Since liquefied ammonia has about 1.7 times higher hydrogen storage density per unit volume than liquefied hydrogen, it enables large-capacity storage and is attracting attention as an important resource for the hydrogen era.

A Doosan Corporation official stated, "Worldwide, the development and demonstration of large-scale production, storage, and transportation technologies for carbon-free hydrogen energy are accelerating," adding, "We expect a market using pure hydrogen as fuel to open within a few years." He further said, "Doosan Corporation will expand its business areas beyond building hydrogen fuel cells and renewable energy distribution convergence support projects to distributed power generation and mobility, growing into an eco-friendly energy solutions company."

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