South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) announced on 13 May that it had signed a business agreement with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to enhance cooperation in clean hydrogen production and energy convergence businesses.
Under the agreement, the two companies will establish hydrogen production and storage facilities using clean energy sources, promote joint research and development on hydrogen production using small modular reactors (SMRs), and develop clean hydrogen production projects overseas.
"We have the experience of having expanded our cooperation in the nuclear power business to the hydroelectric field," said DHIC president Jung Yeon-in. “Now with the signing of this MOU, we expect this will help us secure the technology for hydrogen production based on clean energy sources like SMRs and hydroelectric power, and facilitate the development of new cooperation projects, such as those related to exporting.”
DHIC has been preparing for the hydrogen business since 2018. The company is promoting projects in all stages of the hydrogen value chain such as hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilisation. Doosan Fuel Cell, another Doosan subsidiary that has technical expertise in the field of hydrogen fuel cells, also has plans to embark on a partnership with KHNP in the field of hydrogen utilisation.
In November 2020, Doosan was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a hydrogen liquefaction plant in Gyeongnam. Under the contract, the company will perform the EPC work for a hydrogen liquefaction plant and will also provide operation and maintenance (O&M) services for twenty years. Once complete and in commercial operation in 2023, the plant will have a daily production capacity of five tonnes of liquefied hydrogen, which will then be supplied to hydrogen stations nationwide.
