South Korea-based SK ecoplant and Bloom Energy Corp. (San Jose, Calif.) announced a sale of Bloom’s electrolyzer technology to deploy hydrogen as an energy source in a large-scale green hydrogen demonstration with the Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd (KOSPO) and local government.
The first-of-its-kind demonstration for South Korea, which will commence in late 2025, includes 1.8 megawatts (MW) of Bloom’s industry leading Solid Oxide Electrolyzer (SOEC) technology to develop green hydrogen at scale for use as transport fuel on Jeju Island, South Korea. Jeju Island is known as a leading market for renewable energy projects.
“The extension of our partnership with SK ecoplant to include this deployment of Bloom’s SOEC is a logical step to show the superior efficiency of our electrolyzers compared to other technologies in the important South Korean market,” said KR Sridhar, founder and chairman, CEO of Bloom Energy, Inc. “South Korea has been a leader in policies enabling clean hydrogen, and the efficiency and flexibility of Bloom’s SOEC will demonstrate our commitment to the lowest cost green hydrogen for South Korea.”
SK and Bloom have a strategic relationship on a number of projects in South Korea. For this project, SK and Bloom will combine the Bloom Electrolyzer™ with SK’s engineered infrastructure to produce hydrogen ready to be used as transport fuel.
“The results of this demonstration project will be crucial for SK to advance in the electrolysis market and pursue green hydrogen development projects domestically and internationally using Bloom’s Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cell (SOEC),” said Kyung-il Park, CEO of SK ecoplant. “This participation exemplifies a strategic collaboration between SK and Bloom, expanding the scope of cooperation from power generation (fuel cell) to global green hydrogen development projects, further strengthening the strategic partnership between the two companies.”
The demonstration includes a consortium of companies and technologies. The Bloom Electrolyzer was chosen for its industry-leading high electrical efficiency, enabling KOSPO and the collaborators to achieve the highest efficiency results.
Jeju Island’s “Carbon Free Island 2030” project aims to fully convert all vehicles and electricity generation to renewables by 2030. Hydrogen generated from this project will be used to advance that goal, demonstrating an alternative way to provide renewable and sustainable energy by helping supply green hydrogen to hydrogen refueling stations to power public vehicles.
Using geographic characteristics of Jeju, known for its wind power and abundant natural resources, the consortium is undertaking to build and operate the nation’s largest 12.5MW-scale hydrogen production facilities, including other electrolyzer technologies. The consortium aims to produce green hydrogen, secure economic viability in distribution, and establish a foundation for commercialization.
Launched in 2018, the strategic partnership between Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant has strengthened their respective market leadership positions in power generation and the global hydrogen economy. SK ecoplant will be a preferred distributor globally for Bloom Energy solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and SOEC in markets where SK ecoplant has a significant presence and competitive advantage. Bloom Energy and SK ecoplant have deployed 400 MW since the beginning of the partnership.