A DNV environmental test was recently carried out on the Doosan Fuel Cell’s solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack. The test is designed to ensure the equipment is safe for marine use and the equipment passed the test.

It was back in 2022 that Doosan created a collaboration with Shell and Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE). This partnership was set up with the intention of developing hydrogen fuel cells that can be used within maritime applications.

Once this partnership was created, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was created between the trio, which stated that the three companies would work together to manufacture 600kW SOFCs. The plan for this technology, would be for it to be installed then modified and finally integrated for marine auxiliary power units. After the technology has been installed, it will be able to validate both the reliability and efficiency of SOFC. This data would be collected and processed through running demonstration ships on a dedicated route for a year, this route would be a real route that is commonly used by the ships, so that the data collected is realistic and accurate.

The system to be used in the project is currently under development with HyAxiom and the company has chosen to design and develop the SOFC based off of technology that was developed by Ceres. Doosan has outlined their plan to create a mass production of the SOFC technology and to do this from an initial 50MW manufacturing facility.

The firm developing this project is a South Korean company and they are working with a plan of completing the test and certification for the remaining parts, as well as the full SOFC system, before the end of 2024. Once this step is complete, the company will then begin supplying the systems to ships and they will also make it available for full-scale demonstration.

Doosan has spoken about the system, saying that it will be a “competitive option” within maritime applications.

A company official commented that, ‘the system has a longer life than other SOFC firms due to a lower operating temperature, and great efficiency than internal combustion engines (ICEs).’ The official continued, “The environmental test has shown that Doosan Fuel Cell’s SOFC is suitable for ships, and it is also meaningful since the results prove our product doesn’t sacrifice output even in harsher conditions.”

Dipak Mistry, who was director of commercial partnership at Ceres in 2022, mentioned that, “advanced fuel cell technologies provide a much higher efficiency, they are fuel flexible, so you can use the technology today with available fuels and later transition to future fuels,” telling the summit fuel cells offer a “no regrets solutions.”