On August 26, South Korea’s HD Hyundai announced through its official website that it will be making a foray into the hydrogen fuel cell market which is gaining global attention as a next generation clean energy source.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), HD Hyundai’s holding company for its shipbuilding and offshore division, shared today that its subsidiary HD Hydrogen recently acquired a majority of the shares of ‘Convion’, a leading company in fuel cell systems, at 72 million euros.
Convion, established in 2012 and located in Helsinki, Finland, is a company specializing in SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) and SOEC (Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell). It is one of the few companies in the world that have developed the technology for commercial SOFC generation systems and have supplied it to the market.
SOFC and SOEC are key technologies for hydrogen energy, considered a next generation clean energy. Being activated in high temperatures, they require complex technical skills and a long development process. Developing and obtaining these core technologies will thus bring a preemptive effect when entering the market.
Global market prospects are also bright. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the hydrogen fuel cell and water electrolysis market is expected to expand from KRW 2.5 trillion in 2023 to KRW 17 trillion in 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 30%, driven mainly by onshore power generation. In particular, the market size is expected to reach KRW 55 trillion in 2040 when the application of marine hydrogen fuel cells are in full swing and water electrolysis technology is commercialized.
HD KSOE plans to lead the market with a two-track strategy. HD Hydrogen will oversee the entire fuel cell business while leading the power generation and marine businesses in Korea, and Convion will continue to develop core fuel cell technologies while driving businesses in Europe. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering recently invested KRW 140 billion to establish HD Hydrogen with the goal to efficiently promote its hydrogen fuel cell businesses.
A representative of HD KSOE said “Along with hydrogen fuel cell and water electrolysis technologies, HD Hyundai is also focusing on developing future energy sources such as small modular reactors (SMRs). With technologies to develop the world’s cleanest energy sources, we plan to become the front runner in the future green shipbuilding industry.”
Meanwhile, HD KSOE signed a 45 million euro investment contract last October with a leading fuel cell company Elcogen AS, to advance the large-scale SOFC system.