Doosan to start demonstration of high-efficiency hydrogen turbine

South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility Co. is set to develop and demonstrate a high-efficiency H-class large hydrogen turbine technology utilizing purely domestic technology.

Doosan Enerbility announced on Friday that it has signed an agreement with representatives from 12 domestic industry-academia-research organizations, including Korea East-West Power, at Doosan Tower in Bundang to promote a National Project for the Development and Demonstration of 50% Hydrogen Mixture H-Class Large Gas Turbine Combustion Technology. 

This project will be carried out with the support of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy until December 2027.

The 12 participating organizations plan to develop hydrogen turbine technology that uses hydrogen, an eco-friendly energy source, and apply it to the Ulsan combined power plant run by Korea East-West Power.

Applying hydrogen combustion technology to existing gas turbines that use liquefied natural gas as fuel enables the conversion to hydrogen turbines. A high-efficiency H-class hydrogen turbine can save about 70 billion won ($55 million) in annual fuel costs compared to existing hydrogen turbines (E-class).

An H-class hydrogen turbine refers to a high-efficiency turbine made from a super heat-resistant alloy that can withstand temperatures over 1,500 degrees Celsius. Moreover, if 50% hydrogen is mixed and combusted in a gas turbine, it can reduce carbon emissions by up to 21.4% compared to conventional LNG combustion.

Doosan Enerbility, the fifth company in the world to develop a power-generation gas turbine, is stepping up its hydrogen turbine development efforts. Aiming to complete the development of a 400-megawatt hydrogen combustion turbine by 2027, it is simultaneously developing a 50% hydrogen mixture combustion and full hydrogen combustion burner.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com