The MoU covers close R&D collaboration in green hydrogen production, with Elcogen set to supply its solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and solid oxide electrolyser cell (SOEC) technology.

KSOE is a member of the Hyundai Industries Group (HHI Group) and Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), known for developing various fuel cell stack designs.

Prof. Alexander Michaelis, Director of Fraunhofer IKTS, said, “Renewable energies and carbon Net Zero are the challenge of our time, and in this cooperation, we can apply our many years of experience, particularly in the field of solid oxide fuel cells.”

Enn Õunpuu, CEO of Elcogen, believes the company’s technology has the potential to make an ‘important contribution’ to the decarbonisation of the energy industry.

It will offer a solution to green hydrogen and emission-free energy production by reducing commercial costs so customers can deliver affordable energy solutions to meet NetZero targets.

SOFCs are fuel flexible and allow for the use of ammonia, hydrogen, LNG, LPG, methanol, ethanol and others, and use relatively low-cost abundant materials.

Additionally, SOFCs can achieve the highest efficiencies of >80% when recycling heat, due to their high temperature operation of 800°C.

Read more: Ammonia-powered SOFCs ‘show most potential’ for zero-emission long range shipping

Dr. Sung-Joon Kim, Chief Technical Officer at KSOE, said, “The collaboration between KSOE, Fraunhofer IKTS and Elcogen has a high value at a time when the shipbuilding and offshore industries are now moving into a zero CO2 era.”

Last year, a consortium of industry leaders including KSOE gained an approval in principle to develop a liquid hydrogen tank for ships.

Partners in the consortium continue to promote commercialisation of liquid hydrogen-powered ships through active advancement of developed technologies.

Read more: South Korean consortium gains approval in principle for liquid hydrogen tank for ships