This photo provided by SK ecoplant Co. shows Bloom SK Fuel Cell’s plant in Gumi, 200 kilometers south of Seoul.
SEOUL, Feb. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — SK ecoplant Co., a major construction company, said Thursday it had succeeded in the demonstration of eco-friendly hydrogen production by using a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) to separate hydrogen from water for the first time in South Korea.
The company launched the trial production of eco-friendly hydrogen after setting up 130-kilowatt SOEC facilities at the Gumi plant of Bloom SK Fuel Cell, a joint venture with U.S.-based Bloom Energy.
Water electrolysis refers to a process that produces oxygen and hydrogen by decomposing water with electricity.
There has been significant progress in alkaline and polyelectrolyte-based research and development in South Korea, but the country lags behind in SOEC due to high technological barriers.
SK ecoplant plans to advance its SOEC technology further by carrying out additional demonstrations following the latest one conducted at the Gumi plant.
The latest demonstration used general electricity but if hydrogen can be separated from water using renewable energy created by solar and wind power, it would clear the way for the production of ‘green hydrogen’ that is completely free from carbon emissions throughout the entire production process.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
