SK to Develop Next-Gen Fuel Cells with Danish Firm

S. Korea’s third largest conglomerate signed an agreement Tuesday to partner with a Danish firm to develop a next generation fuel cell.

SK Group agreed to co-develop and commercialize solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with Topsoe Fuel Cell of Nymoellevej, Denmark at the group’s T-Tower in central Seoul. he signing ceremony was attended by Danish Prince Frederik Christian and Director General Karsten Dybvad of the Confederation of Danish Industry.

Conventional fuel cells generate electricity through chemical reactions that combine the hydrogen in fuels like liquefied natural gas, diesel or bio fuels with oxygen to produce water and electricity. SOFCs use ceramic electrolytes that dispense with the need for an expensive platinum catalyst by operating at temperatures of between 500 and 1,000 degrees centigrade. This makes them slow to warm up, making them unsuitable for motor vehicles. But they have the advantage of higher efficiency, long-term stability, fuel flexibility and low emissions, making them ideal for use in homes, commercial buildings and factories.

By combining their respective technologies the partners hope to commercialize SOFCs for use in homes by 2015.

SK Innovation, the group’s energy business, will develop medium and large fuel cells with Topsoe while SK E&S, a clean energy producer, will develop smaller units for homes.

The group also hopes to integrate the SOFC project with its photovoltaic cell, energy storage system and smart grid businesses to expand its capacity to generate power from renewable energies.

The signing of a memorandum of agreement last year between the two firms was attended by Korean President Lee Myung-bak and then Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen in a show of the two governments’ collaboration in the global green economy.