The Korea Register (KR) has signed an MoU agreement with STX Energy Solutions (STX ES) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to work together on ‘The technology standardisation and commercialisation of solid oxide fuel cells.’
The agreement was signed to facilitate the development of a future power generation system through the sharing and application of technology and research resources to meet the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) increasingly rigorous environmental regulations.
A Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is a new low-carbon, high-efficiency renewable energy power generation facility that produces electricity through the electrochemical reaction of oxygen and hydrocarbons from oxidising LNG.
The IMO has set the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent compared to 2008 levels, by 2050. Accordingly, the maritime industry is actively developing various eco-friendly fuel application technologies such as ammonia and biomethane. Similarly, SOFC’s are being included in ship designs as a power generation facility and are being evaluated as means to reduce greenhouse gases.
Under the MoU agreement, each company plans to apply their expertise and strengths, for example by enacting and revising the technical standards to fit SOFC on ships, and by deriving and performing joint research tasks.
STX ES will be in charge of developing and supplying SOFC systems for ships. DSME will manage the onshore testing and evaluation of SOFC systems for ships as well as the SOFC ship application concept research and demonstration project planning and execution. KR will evaluate and certify the technical capabilities of SOFC products for ships and will ratify and revise related regulations for safe ship mounting and operation.
The aim of the three companies’ joint cooperation is to successfully standardise the technology and thereby commercialise SOFC’s for ships, allowing the technology to be applied to different types of ships in the future.
