Hanwha, HD Hyundai and Doosan race to commercialize marine fuel cells ahead of emissions rules

Hanwha, HD Hyundai and Doosan are accelerating efforts to commercialize marine fuel cells, as tightening greenhouse gas emissions regulations are expected to drive growing demand for cleaner power sources at sea. Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen.

Industry sources say Hanwha Aerospace recently began the process of obtaining type-approval certification for its marine fuel cell from Norwegian classification society DNV.

Type approval verifies that a product will operate without fault when installed on a vessel. Hanwha Aerospace had already obtained concept approval from DNV last year — the stage preceding type approval — which validates the safety of a technology and its compliance with international standards at the design phase.

The company plans to secure type-approval certification by next year. Once the full certification process is complete, Hanwha Aerospace will be able to sell its marine fuel cells in the global market.

In 2024, Hanwha Aerospace began joint research and development of fuel cells with Hanwha Ocean to target the eco-friendly vessel market. The fuel cell under development uses proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology, which can generate power stably even at low temperatures. Its parallel control function allows capacity expansion to the MW level, making it applicable to medium- and large-sized vessels.

Doosan Fuel Cell and HD Hyundai are also pushing ahead with marine fuel cell commercialization. Doosan Fuel Cell obtained full official certification from DNV last year for its marine solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system and is currently conducting a product demonstration aboard an LNG carrier. SOFC, a type of fuel cell that uses solid oxide as an electrolyte, offers relatively high power efficiency.

HD Hyundai signed an MOU with HMM and Korean Register (KR) last year to commercialize marine SOFC systems. Three HD Hyundai affiliates participated in the agreement: HD Hydrogen, HD Korea Shipbuilding and HD Hyundai Heavy. Under the arrangement, HD Hydrogen will develop the SOFC while HD Korea Shipbuilding and HD Hyundai Heavy will build container vessels suited to fuel cell integration.

Tightening greenhouse gas emissions regulations underpin the growing interest from Hanwha, Doosan and HD Hyundai in marine fuel cells.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) decided at the 83rd session of its Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) last year to introduce new greenhouse gas regulations. Under the new rules, shipowners that emit greenhouse gases above the prescribed threshold from June 2028 will face a carbon levy of up to $480 per ton. To avoid the charges, the industry must move quickly to adopt eco-friendly systems capable of replacing conventional combustion engines.

Fuel cells have emerged as a key solution. Because they produce electricity from hydrogen and oxygen, they emit far fewer pollutants than conventional engines, and the only byproduct of the power-generation process is water, leaving a minimal environmental footprint. Fuel cells also offer significantly higher energy efficiency — marine fuel cells can achieve generation efficiency of more than 60%, far exceeding that of conventional gasoline engines at 25% and diesel engines at 35%.

Market research firm WiseGuy Reports projected that the global marine fuel cell market will grow from $160 million in 2024 at a compound annual rate of 38%, reaching $2.15 billion by 2032. In its research note, the firm said the marine fuel cell market "will grow significantly over the next few years, driven by stricter environmental regulations and the increasing need for efficient fuel sources."