Convion's C60 fuel cell system (Convion)

HD Hydrogen, a recently established hydrogen fuel cell subsidiary of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, recently acquired Finnish fuel cell firm Convion at 72 million euros ($81 million), HD KSOE said Monday.

Established in 2012, Convion specializes in manufacturing solid oxide fuel cells, or SOFC, and solid oxide electrolyzer cells, or SOEC, both of which are key technologies for hydrogen energy. According to HD KSOE, the intermediate holdings company under Korean shipbuilding conglomerate HD Hyundai, Convion is one of the few companies that has developed technology for commercial SOFC generation systems and supplied it to the market.

Before the acquisition, HD KSOE announced last week that it had decided to commit 140 billion won ($106 million) to establish HD Hydrogen and accelerate its “Hydrogen Dream 2030” project, which aims to set up a complete value chain for the production, transportation, storage and utilization of hydrogen.

HD KSOE expects the acquisition of Convion to allow HD Hydrogen to have a competitive edge in the hydrogen sector as the technologies of SOFC and SOEC require a high level of difficulty and lengthy development period.

According to the International Energy Agency and International Renewable Energy Agency, the global hydrogen fuel cell and water electrolysis market is expected to reach 17 trillion won ($12.8 billion) in 2030 from 2.5 trillion won in 2023 with an average annual growth rate of 30 percent driven by onshore power generation.

By 2040, when the application of hydrogen fuel cells for ships is projected to be in full swing and water electrolysis technology is expected to have been commercialized, the global hydrogen fuel cell and water electrolysis market is forecast to hit 55 trillion won.

HD Hydrogen, which will be in charge of the domestic power generation and on-the-ship businesses, will take the helm of the overall fuel cell business while Convion will focus on developing core fuel cell technologies and push for European business.

In October last year, HD KSOE announced a 45-million-euro investment in Estonian fuel cell company Elcogen AS, a leading firm in the production of core components and stacks for SOFC.

"Along with hydrogen fuel cell and water electrolysis technologies, HD Hyundai is also focusing on developing future energy sources such as small modular reactors,” said a KSOE official. “With technologies to develop the world's cleanest energy sources, we plan to become the front runner in the future green shipbuilding industry."

Logos of HD Hydrogen and Convion (HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering)