SK Eternix (475150.KS) has begun commercial operation of its Icheon-Paju fuel cell power project, built to meet rising electricity demand in the greater Seoul area.
The company said on the 20th that Icheon Eco Park and Paju Eco Park No. 1 started commercial operation on the 19th. The project involves about 159.4 billion won ($111 million) in total investment to build three clusters of distributed fuel cell generation: Icheon Eco Park (8.9 MW), Paju Eco Park No. 1 (9.9 MW) and Paju Eco Park No. 2 (9.2 MW). Paju Eco Park No. 2 will enter commercial operation next month.
SK Eternix adopted high-efficiency solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) from Bloom Energy as the main equipment. The 28 MW of combined capacity will produce 222 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply about 53,000 households for a year. Once commercial operation of the project is completed by the end of this year, SK Eternix will have 228 MW of cumulative fuel cell operating capacity.
The project was pursued to secure distributed generation in areas where electricity demand is expected to grow, in line with the purpose of the country's hydrogen power bidding market. Since 2023, SK Eternix has identified sites linked to power demand from semiconductor clusters and artificial intelligence data centers (AIDC) and handled the entire process, including permits, grid connection, engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and financial structuring. All three projects were then selected in the 2024 competitive bidding for general hydrogen power generation, and last year the company established Insung Dream Eco Park as a joint investment with Insung Co., which has operations and maintenance capabilities, laying the groundwork for the project.
Fuel cells face fewer siting constraints and require shorter construction periods, allowing operators to respond quickly to electricity demand. They are regarded as particularly valuable as distributed generation because they can reduce reliance on long-distance transmission in industrial complexes and areas near city centers.
SK Eternix said it will continue to expand fuel cell-based distributed generation to ease power supply constraints caused by grid bottlenecks. The company also plans to combine fuel cells with solar, wind and energy storage systems (ESS) and link them to power trading capabilities such as direct power purchase agreements (PPA), power brokerage and virtual power plants (VPP) to serve large-scale demand from facilities including AI data centers.
"The Icheon-Paju fuel cell power project is the fruit of combining SK Eternix's project execution capabilities with the significance of local generation for local consumption, taking into account growing power demand and grid conditions," SK Eternix CEO Kim Hae-jung said. "We will continue to expand distributed generation centered on demand sites and provide customized comprehensive energy solutions that combine renewable power generation, ESS and power trading."