SK Energy expands fusion urban fuel cell business

SK Energy has teamed up with new and renewable energy companies to develop urban distributed power generation and electric vehicle charging.

The company said on Wednesday it has signed an MOU with Korea Southern Power, LS Electric Co., Daehan Green Power, and Samchully Asset Management to jointly undertake a "fusion urban fuel cell project" where power generation and usage take place in a single location.

The project calls for installing fuel cells and electric vehicle chargers at gas stations or vacant sites in the city center, and supplying the electric power generated from the fuel cells to electric vehicle chargers and nearby power grids.

A fuel cell is a power generator that produces electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen and is attracting keen attention as a low-carbon power source.

According to the agreement, SK Energy, Korea Southern Power, LS Electric, and Daehan Green Power will expand the urban fuel cell project on their own by utilizing each of their new and renewable energy-related assets and capabilities.

Samchully Asset Management will take charge of raising the funds needed for large-scale investments.

Since May of 2021, SK Energy has undertaken an energy superstation demo project to build and run fuel cells at gas stations through a regulatory sandbox and has devised the expertise to operate small-scale fuel cell stations.

"With this joint program, we have established a bridgehead for early penetration into the urban fuel cell business," said Jang Ho-joon, head of the SK Energy Solution & Platform Promotion Team.

"We will make sure to contribute to disseminating the hydrogen economy and distributed power generation by promoting the business based on our timeline," he added.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com