[월간수소경제 성재경 기자] Hydrogen is a life cycle industry. All sectors of the industry, including production, storage, transportation, and utilization of hydrogen, are closely intertwined. It is not a market driven solely by the will of a few companies. This must be followed by the development of new technologies to efficiently and skillfully handle hydrogen. As there is a risk of fire or explosion, securing safety is very important.
Converting hydrogen energy takes a lot of time and money. It is difficult to achieve sustainability without the government’s consistent policy or support. The government is well aware of this. Therefore, as a national project, we are sparing no support for related technology development.
The government has confirmed new R&D tasks in the hydrogen sector this year through the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, a national energy technology research and development (R&D) agency. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will support 171.8 billion won as a national project for the entire hydrogen industry this year. This is an increase of about 62% from last year (106 billion won), and 44.2 billion won will be provided for new R&D projects this year, the largest ever.
I looked closely at these tasks. Most of the demonstration projects are as short as 3 years and as long as 5 years. If you are curious about the domestic hydrogen industry trend around 2025, you can find the answer in the new R&D that is being promoted this year.
New R&D tasks in the hydrogen field for 2022 are grouped into three keywords. These are ‘water electrolysis’, ‘liquid hydrogen’, and ‘hydrogen mobility’. Limited space, such as the next-generation high-pressure (1,000 bar) hydrogen compressor developed by Energene, the material and steel pipe technology for 100 bar-class piping for high-pressure hydrogen transport led by POSCO, and the solid oxide fuel cell for direct ammonia fuel by the Korea Energy Research Institute There are still tasks that have been left out, but they are still technologies to pay attention to.
2022 New R&D in Hydrogen Field_ Water Electrolysis
The most notable development of new and renewable energy core technology is also ‘water electrolysis’. This is the ‘Development of Large-scale Green Hydrogen Demonstration Technology Linked to 10MW Renewable Energy’ hosted by Korea Southern Power. It is a large project that costs 30 billion won from the government and is promoted at the Dongbok and Bukchon wind farms in Gujwa-eup, Jeju. It is located on the right side of the 1132 local road passing from Hamdeok to Gimnyeong.
This is expected to be the first MW-class P2G demonstration site in Korea to build and demonstrate all four water electrolysis systems: alkaline (AEC), polyelectrolyte (PEM), solid oxide (SOEC), and anion exchange membrane (AEM). Jeju Provincial Government, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Gas Technology Corporation, Energy Technology Research Institute, etc. will participate, centering on Southern Power. Hyundai Motor Company and Kohaizen were also listed.
If a 12.5 MW water electrolysis facility is built at the site from the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026, it will be able to produce 1,200 tons of green hydrogen per year. The hydrogen produced in this way will be supplied to nearby hydrogen refueling stations or used for gas turbine power generation by mixing with LNG fuel at Namjeju Bitdream and Hanlim Bitdream Power Plants. As the government aims to produce and supply 250,000 tons of green hydrogen annually in Korea by 2030, it can be said to be an important project that serves as the starting point.
In addition to alkaline and PEM, it should be noted that a total of three SOEC and AEM units, which are evaluated as next-generation water electrolysis facilities, will be installed at the site. Representative water electrolysis facilities at home and abroad will be gathered in one place, and the ability to respond to variability associated with renewable energy (wind power), stability, stack deterioration, and lifespan will be compared and analyzed by manufacturer.
This project is very similar to finding a way to secure the economic feasibility of green hydrogen in connection with the clean hydrogen certification system, PPA (Power Purchase Agreement), DR (Demand Response), Plus DR, and hydrogen sales for co-firing for power generation. related Plus DR is a system that increases electricity consumption when supply exceeds demand due to increased power generation, contrary to the existing DR. Customers are rewarded when they increase, rather than reduce, their electricity use.
This demonstration is expected to provide important data for policy establishment such as RE100 and Plus DR. If the clean hydrogen certification system is implemented in the future, green hydrogen without carbon emission will receive high subsidies. With the implementation of such a system in mind, measures to secure economic feasibility through grid connection and deriving an optimal water electrolysis business model suitable for the domestic environment will be reviewed in various ways.
‘Development and demonstration of 35 MPa class S-HRS system based on water electrolysis’ in which GTC participates is also interesting. HRS stands for ‘Simple Hydrogen Refueling Station’. It can be viewed as a ‘solar-linked integrated hydrogen charging system’ that can be installed and operated in a narrow space where about one car is parked.
It is a research and development project that produces and stores hydrogen from electricity produced by solar power generation in public offices, spare sites of factories, and public parking lots, and then uses it to charge hydrogen electric vehicles. It aims to charge five vehicles a day by installing a charging system that integrates hydrogen production, compression, storage, and charging at the site. It is expected that an AEM water electrolysis system of 10 kg per day that can be charged at 350 bar will be applied.
Domestic water electrolysis R&D is focused on materials rather than systems.
First, it is the ‘development of a polymer electrolyte membrane to improve the efficiency of PEM water electrolysis’ hosted by Kolon Industries. Currently, Nafion membranes with a thickness of about 125 μm (micrometers) are mainly used in PEM water electrolysis systems. This Nafion is supplied by a company called Chemours, which was spun off from DuPont in 2015. It can be seen that the total dependence on imports.
PEM water electrolysis is more efficient as the thickness of the electrolyte membrane is thinner, but there is a limit to making the thickness thinner due to the hydrogen gas permeability problem. A technology to reduce the specific area resistance and reduce gas permeability while making the thickness as thin as 100 μm will be developed. Through this, the efficiency of the water electrolysis stack can be increased.
‘Development of solid oxide water electrolysis source technology for medium and low temperature operation below 650℃’, which will be conducted at the Korea Energy Research Institute, is also eye-catching. Solid oxide (SOEC) operating at high temperature has higher hydrogen production efficiency than alkaline or PEM water electrolysis. Currently, SOEC technology is in the early stage of technology development worldwide, so if it has commercialized technology, it can gain a competitive edge in the market. It is also a technology closely related to nuclear power.
Conventional solid oxide water electrolysis is optimized for temperatures above 700°C. If the water electrolysis temperature is lowered below 650℃, the hydrogen production efficiency will suffer to some extent, but the utilization of heat sources including high-temperature steam increases and the choice of materials constituting the system is widened, which is of great help in extending the life of the facility. do.
There is also the ‘Proton Ceramic Water Electrolysis (PCEC)’ technology development task led by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. Proton Ceramic Silver Structure
A new technology is required in terms of materials. It operates at a low to medium temperature of 500℃ or less, and only pure hydrogen is discharged after the electrode reaction, so there is no need for a separate water treatment or oxygen separation device. Although it is attracting attention as a next-generation water electrolysis battery for future hydrogen source technology, there are many technical hurdles to overcome.
2022 New R&D in hydrogen field_ liquid hydrogen
Next year, liquid hydrogen filling stations will be built one after another in Korea. Hyosung Hydrogen, established by Hyosung Heavy Industries in partnership with Linde Group, will build a liquid hydrogen charging station in the garage of Chonam Industrial Complex in Gwangyang. Liquid hydrogen charging stations will also be built in Cheongju and Gagok-dong in Suncheon. It is included in the private capital subsidy project supported by the Ministry of Environment.
This means that liquid hydrogen produced by the liquid hydrogen plant will be supplied to commercial charging stations starting in 2023. In Japan and Germany, liquid hydrogen charging stations have already been installed in downtown areas and are being operated commercially, but in Korea, there are no related standards yet, so it is difficult to install them. Korea Gas Safety Corporation is speeding up the preparation of liquid hydrogen safety standards, and is promoting related demonstrations through the Gangwon Liquid Hydrogen Regulatory Free Zone.
‘Development of storage tank and hydrogen supply system technology for liquid hydrogen charging station’, which emerged as an integrated task, is related to this.
Hydrogen becomes liquid at a cryogenic temperature of -253°C. Even if you pay attention to insulation with a triple layer, there is no choice but to generate boil-off gas (BOG) due to the temperature difference with the outside. This task includes the development of a 1-ton liquid hydrogen storage tank with a BOG performance of 1.5% per day and demonstration of charging and supply technology. The development of a vaporizer to which a liquid hydrogen pump and a heat exchanger are applied, and a valve to prevent the reverse flow of vaporized gaseous hydrogen, etc. are being promoted.
The technology to convert the existing hydrogen filling station, which is stored and supplied in gaseous form, into a liquid hydrogen filling station was also included in this demonstration.
A large site is required to supply and store gaseous hydrogen. Limitations on expanding the capacity of existing hydrogen charging stations
Liquefaction is the answer if you want to store a larger amount of hydrogen in the same area. To this end, a 1-ton liquid hydrogen storage tank will be installed at the existing charging station and related facilities will be built.
In connection with the liquid hydrogen charging station, the highway test of the hydrogen wide-area bus is carried out, and the development of control technology to improve the durability and performance of the fuel cell stack is also included in this task. It can be said to be an integrated task linking charging infrastructure and utilization.
“This project is currently being re-announced because we have not been able to determine the implementing agency. Unlike the general type, the integrated type combines tasks that are difficult to remove separately. It is a very important task along with the demonstration of 10MW-class P2G water electrolysis in Jeju in connection with wind power. It will take some time to select the implementing agency, but you can think of it as going as planned.”
The words of an official from the Hydrogen Industry Division of the Ministry of Industry. In the case of ‘Scheduled to apply’, there are no companies participating in the project or the results of the proposal review are incomplete.
It means a business that needs to be re-published.
‘Development of a 3-ton liquid hydrogen tank trailer’ is also underway with the participation of Krios. To store liquid hydrogen, it is absolutely necessary to manufacture a stainless steel pressure vessel and a metal container for vacuum and insulation. It can be said that it is a task to develop a cryogenic container with a multi-layer insulation structure with a certain space inside the container like a thermos.
Safety tasks related to liquid hydrogen are carried out by Korea Gas Safety Corporation and Korea Gas Technology Corporation. It is essential to evaluate the vacuum/insulation performance of liquid hydrogen storage tanks or pressure vessels and develop safety standards, and safety evaluation and demonstration in connection with the construction of liquid hydrogen filling stations are carried out together.
2022 New R&D in Hydrogen Field_ Hydrogen Mobility
The utilization of hydrogen is as important as the production and storage of hydrogen. If there is no place to consume hydrogen, it is difficult to secure economic feasibility. The first thing to pay attention to is the ‘Hydrogen Bus Fuel Cell Hybrid Optimization Technology Development’ project in which Sambo Motors participates.
Hydrogen electric buses in Korea began to be distributed for the first time in October 2018 when Ulsan City and Hyundai Motors implemented the hydrogen electric bus pilot project. The government has raised the hydrogen bus supply target to 2,000 by this year, and continues to provide support with the goal of securing driving durability of 800,000 km or more by 2030.
Europe, the United States, and Japan are also pushing for the introduction of hydrogen buses, but China is the most active. China, which announced a roadmap for hydrogen vehicle distribution in 2016, is promoting the supply of 1 million hydrogen electric vehicles by 2030. is stepping into
This task is to prepare a plan to increase the competitiveness of the hydrogen bus by improving its price competitiveness, efficiency, and durability. By applying digital twin technology, the hybrid power pack design will be carried out, and the vehicle to which the optimized control technology has been applied will be operated and monitored on the actual road, while performance verification and technology development will be carried out simultaneously. The maximum output of the hybrid power pack, which combines the fuel cell and battery, is set at 240 kW.
The Iljin Hysolus Consortium will receive 23 billion won from the government to develop technology to reduce the production cost of hydrogen storage containers for commercial vehicles by more than 30%. This is the ‘development of hydrogen storage containers and storage volume control controllers for hydrogen commercial vehicles’.
The government is promoting a hydrogen truck pilot project in the public sector, and plans to sequentially convert official special cargo vehicles (14,000 units) to hydrogen trucks. This is also related to Hyundai’s move. Hyundai Motor is developing two types of 3G hydrogen fuel cells: 100kW and 200kW. The 100kW class plans to reduce the volume by 30% with an output similar to the fuel cell system used in the Nexo.
It should be noted here that the 200kW class. It is expected to be used for large trucks by doubling the output and two to three times the durability.
However, the high-durability fuel cell system for commercial vehicles faces a major challenge in that the fuel cell price should be reduced by more than half while securing a mileage of at least 500,000 km.
The hydrogen storage container development is a project that is carried out separately from the hydrogen fuel cell system. The purpose is to lower production costs and increase durability by improving the overall design, material, and process of the carbon composite type 4 container used in hydrogen commercial vehicles. As only the Hyundai Xcient hydrogen truck is equipped with seven hydrogen tanks, it is essential to develop a controller and algorithm to control the amount of hydrogen storage.
The following is ‘Reliability Verification Technology Development for Commercialization of Hydrogen Forklift’ carried out by the Construction Machinery & Components Research Institute. Demand for forklifts is high in large logistics complexes, airports, and factories, and more and more companies are trying to electrify them to participate in carbon neutrality. Korea Zinc and light animals, which have been named as demonstration companies in this hydrogen forklift commercialization demonstration project, are representative.
This project will collect operation data by putting about 100 units of 5-ton forklifts into factories and warehouses. Data for each manufacturer of hydrogen forklift based on total cost of ownership (TCO) will be secured to compare the commercial properties. In addition, it will be used as data on the hydrogen forklift supply policy plan, including government benefits for purchasing hydrogen forklifts, and a model for determining the amount of insurance required during operation.
There is also ‘Development of 50kW Skid Loader Hydrogen Multiple Power System for Construction Agricultural Machinery’ conducted by Doosan Fuel Cell Power. This is a demonstration project to develop a fuel cell system and peripheral parts suitable for skid loaders mainly operated on unpaved roads and apply them to actual vehicles.
It aims to develop a 30kW-class power pack in the second year and a 50kW-class power pack in the final fourth year. As the work is carried out in an environment with a lot of dust, inlet air purification technology is essential to prevent a decrease in the lifespan of the power system.
