Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction is stepping up efforts to diversify its hydrogen business. The plan is to acquire the technology and track record for producing clean hydrogen, such as blue and green hydrogen, successfully develop a hydrogen gas turbine and build up the company’s hydrogen-related equipment business, all of which will be pursued to solidify Doosan’s position as market leader in the hydrogen business.

▷ Production of Blue Hydrogen Being Pursued in Changwon and Green Hydrogen in Jeju

Doosan’s efforts for “clean hydrogen production,” namely blue and green hydrogen, are picking up speed. With the target year set as 2022, Doosan has been working on constructing a hydrogen liquefaction plant within the complex of its Changwon plant, which will be used to produce blue hydrogen for future supply and utilization. Blue hydrogen is a low carbon-emitting hydrogen that is produced by capturing and storing the carbon emissions generated during the production of hydrogen from fossil fuels. Doosan will be applying the high-efficiency CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage) technology to produce blue hydrogen.

The production of green hydrogen using wind power is also well underway on Jeju island. The option of applying small modular reactors (SMRs) to produce clean hydrogen is also being reviewed. Given that renewable energy, such as solar and wind energy, and nuclear power, are all sources that emit zero carbon emissions, they are receiving attention both at home and abroad as viable energy sources for achieving clean hydrogen production.

▷Building Up the Hydrogen Equipment Business and Developing Hydrogen Gas Turbine with Doosan Technology

Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, the fifth company in the world to have successfully developed an industrial gas turbine for power generation, is now working on the development of a hydrogen gas turbine for power generation as part of its business expansion efforts. Hydrogen gas turbines use either hydrogen or a hydrogen-natural gas mixture as fuel. Since May of last year, Doosan has been working on developing a 100% hydrogen-fueled gas turbine combustor for a 5MW hydrogen gas turbine model with its own technology, and has also been partnering with the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) to develop a hydrogen dual-fuel combustor for a 300MW hydrogen gas turbine.

Doosan Mecatec, a subsidiary of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, is also venturing into the hydrogen business. In 2019, Doosan Mecatec invested in the shares of ReCarbon, a company that owns the technology for recycling greenhouse gases emitted from landfills, power plants and petrochemical plants to create hydrogen. To expedite its efforts in this area, the HPE (Hydrogen Process Equipment) business was newly established at Doosan Mecatec early this year to handle all the carbon recycling and hydrogen related projects. Doosan Mecatec was also a part of the Dangjin Thermal Power Plant Carbon Recycling Project, a state project led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, which culminated in the recent development of the soon-to-be supplied gas separator & feeder.
In addition, in response to growing expectations for expansion of the hydrogen business, Doosan has completed development of a hydrogen storage tank to be used for hydrogen refueling and is preparing for its commercial launch.

▷Demand forecasted to grow from 900 thousand tons in 2030 to 3.6 million tons by 2040
The South Korean government announced its Hydrogen Economy Roadmap, which outlines the goal of acquiring 8GW-scale hydrogen power generation facilities by 2040 and forecasts that the demand for hydrogen will rise from approximately 1.94 million tons in 2030 to 5.26 million tons by 2040. While the demand for grey hydrogen, which is created using fossil fuel, is expected to drop from 50% in 2030 to 30% by 2040, the demand for clean hydrogen is expected to steadily rise from approximately 900 thousand tons in 2030 to 3.6 million tons by 2040. A Doosan source remarked, “In response to the growing market demand for hydrogen, we plan to take the lead in the domestic hydrogen market by exploring various methods of hydrogen production that are linked with the company’s existing business capabilities and pursuing the manufacturing and supply of related equipment.”


< Terminology>
* Depending on how the hydrogen is produced, hydrogen can be categorized as ▲ “grey hydrogen” when created through the steam reforming of natural gas and petrochemical process by-products or ▲“blue hydrogen” when CCS(carbon capture and storage) or CCUS(carbon capture, utilization and storage) technology is applied to reduce carbon emissions created during the production process or ▲ “green hydrogen” when water electrolysis using renewable electricity, such as solar and wind power, is applied for the hydrogen production.