(Invited) Current Status of SOFC Deployment and Technology Developments in Korea

In Korea, the supply of stationary fuel cells for power generation is being promoted by the mandatory RPS program. The deployment of fuel cells in Korea began in 2012. Currently, fuel cells of about 880 MW have been supplied. Among them, the amount of SOFC system is about 220 MW, and the SOFC installation started in 2014. About 40 MW in 2021 and 50 MW in 2022 were installed. The deployment of residential SOFCs has just begun, and a small number of systems have been deployed. In Korea, fuel cell deployment is accelerated by the mandatory supply amount allocated to power generation companies by the RPS policy, and in addition, the clean energy supply promotion regulation granted to public buildings partially contributes to fuel cell supply. Several Korean companies have developed the SOFC and SOEC technologies under the national program, and major projects are the development of a 200 kW SOFC and a 20 kW SOEC systems. The 2~8kW class SOFC products have been developed already and are in deployment. In Korea, SOEC demonstration is being also promoted to store electricity generated from renewable energy, and about 1.5MW SOEC is scheduled to be demonstrated by 2024. The Korean government enacted the Hydrogen Law in 2019, and under this law, development and deployment of hydrogen and fuel cell-related technologies are in progress. In addition, a hydrogen roadmap was established as an implementation plan to encourage achievement of the deployment targets. In this talk, the achievements of the SOFC R&D and deployment, and national hydrogen roadmap in Korea are introduced in more detail.