On February 13, Hyundai Mobis announced that it implemented the ‘emergency hydrogen power generation system’ in its hydrogen fuel cell plant in Chungju, Korea, and began to operate it on a pilot basis.

This emergency hydrogen power generator will be used as emergency power during power failures of the plant, and as auxiliary power during seasonal peak times. Generated hydrogen will act as part of the electricity used to operate the hydrogen vehicle parts plant.

For the emergency hydrogen power generation system, the hydrogen fuel cell modules being used in Nexo, the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle that is currently mass-produced, were directly applied. The company connected 5 hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles to form a power generation system with a maximum capacity of 450kW. It corresponds to about 7% of the total power consumption of the Chungju Plant and can be used in emergencies or during peak time.

Hyundai Mobis applied the fuel cell modules of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles as is, and separately developed the parallel controller, thermal management system and uninterruptible power supply system (UPS), necessary for the power generator.

This hydrogen power generation system has many benefits, such as quantity control, safety, high energy efficiency, no pollution and low noise.

To begin with, the biggest advantage is the ability to control the number of fuel cell modules necessary for generating electricity. As many fuel cell modules as necessary can be connected according to the required emergency power and auxiliary power which varies depending on the size of the building.

Also, as the individual components of the hydrogen fuel cell module are designed to be combustion-proof, and the automatic hydrogen detection and external exhaust system are operating, there are no safety concerns.

The power generation system using hydrogen fuel cells features great advantages, including high energy efficiency, no pollution and low noise. As the infrastructure for hydrogen production and utilization is not adequate, the installation cost is high, but if the use of hydrogen energy is invigorated, Hyundai Mobis is expected to also offer price competitiveness.

Starting with the pilot operation in the Chungju Plant, Hyundai Mobis is planning to install more emergency hydrogen power generation systems in other production bases at home and abroad.

“The Chungju Plant emergency hydrogen power generation system is the first step in using the core hydrogen vehicle technology to produce hydrogen,” said Vice President Byung-ki Ahn, head of the electrification business division of Hyundai Mobis. “The hydrogen fuel cell modules for vehicles can be used not only in power generation, but also in various other business areas like hydrogen-powered trains or ships, drones and construction equipment.”