Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Ocean, both affiliated with Hanwha Group, Korea’s seventh-largest business group, will jointly develop hydrogen fuel cells for ships as part of a government-led green energy project.

Hanwha Aerospace was selected by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to conduct a research and development project for 200 kW-class hydrogen fuel cell power packs for ships.

The initiative aims to enter the global eco-friendly ship market by combining the technologies of the aerospace company and the shipbuilder.

Previously, the two companies jointly developed an MWh-class energy storage system (ESS) that can be applied to large ships such as liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGC) and super-large crude oil carriers (VLCCs).

We plan to expand the technology secured through the development of hydrogen fuel cells for aviation to the marine field. We will develop a world-class hydrogen fuel cell for ships with clean marine technology synergy with Hanwha Ocean and provide a carbon-free ship solution.

—Moon Seung-hak, head of Hanhwa Aerospace Electric Promotion System

We plan to solidify our position as a leader in the global eco-friendly ship market by launching a large-capacity high-efficiency and high-durability hydrogen fuel battery developed through this project and a carbon-free large-scale ship that is applied to Hanwh-Aerospace’s MWh-class ESS.

—Kim Hyung-seok, director of Hanwha Ocean Product Strategic Technology