For Local Production of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Ahn Jae-hyun (left), president of SK E&C and K. R. Sridhar, president of Bloom Energy at the joint venture agreement signing ceremony in September 2019

SK Engineering & Construction (SK E&C) announced on Jan. 16 that it has set up a joint venture with Bloom Energy of the United States to produce solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) in Korea.

An SOFC is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel. Bloom Energy manufactures and markets SOFC production equipment.

The two sides concluded an agreement (JVA) in September 2019 to set up a joint venture and a production plant to supply SOFCs in Korea. The joint venture was named Bloom SK Fuel Cell Co. SK E&C owns a 49 percent stake and Bloom Energy the remaining 51 percent.

The production facility will be set up in Gumi, Korea. The two sides will expand its production volume from the initial 50 MW a year to 400 MW later.

The plant is meaningful as it will localize SOFCs of the highest specifications in Korea, SK E&C said.

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