Korea-based Doosan Fuel Cell, a developer of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), will take part in the Korea-China Smart Farm Village project in Pocheon. This complex—comprising smart farms, hydrogen fuel cell generators, logistics systems and housing with leisure facilities—will sit on a 250,000 m² (62 acre) parcel of land.

Sookyung Yoo, CEO of Doosan Fuel Cell (3^rd from right) in ceremony marking the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Doosan, CJ OliveNetworks and Shinhan Bank for the smart farm project.

Private companies from Korea and China will invest upwards of KRW 80 billion (US$71.4 million) in the initiative.

This agreement will enable Doosan Fuel Cell to employ heat recovered from hydrogen fuel cells in distributed generation system for heating and absorption chillers for cooling for the first time.

Fuel cells provided by Doosan produce electricity and heat simultaneously and the thermal energy can heat and cool smart farms, households, hot springs and community centers while saving heating cost. These applications could unleash the full potential of agriculture communities struggling with limited arable crops due to climate factors. This could lead to cost-effectiveness and crop diversity which play an important role in income growth in agriculture, the company said.

In November 2020, Doosan Fuel Cell signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system for marine propulsion and power generation with Navig8, a Singapore-based major shipping company which operates 140 chemical and oil tankers globally. (Earlier post.)

In March of this year, Doosan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding, a shipbuilding holding company of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, for the joint development of solid oxide fuel cells for ships. (Earlier post.)