NAJU — Korea Institute of Energy Technology, known as KENTECH, has transferred its design expertise for liquid hydrogen plants and infrastructure to KEPCO Engineering & Construction, marking the largest technology transfer in the university's history. The deal is expected to bring KENTECH's cryogenic system engineering technology into full use at domestic hydrogen infrastructure projects.
KENTECH said on the 13th that it signed an agreement the previous day at its campus with KEPCO Engineering & Construction for the use of know-how on core engineering technology for liquid hydrogen plant and infrastructure systems, for a fixed licensing fee of 500 million won ($347,000), excluding value-added tax.
The transfer covers engineering know-how for designing the entire liquid hydrogen chain — production, storage, transfer and supply — as a single integrated system. The package includes core design methodologies needed to build liquid hydrogen infrastructure, such as experience from constructing demonstration facilities, safety reviews, economic feasibility assessments and the development of operating scenarios.
At the center of the technology is system integration design, which goes beyond the performance of individual pieces of equipment. The approach consolidates design standards for each process — liquefiers, storage tanks, transfer piping and supply facilities — into a single framework and closely examines the interfaces between equipment and processes. It also factors in operating conditions, safety and economic feasibility to improve the technology's applicability to actual plants.
The contract carries particular weight because the cryogenic system design and demonstration experience accumulated by KENTECH researchers will be applied to plant projects at one of Korea's leading power and energy engineering firms. KEPCO Engineering & Construction plans to use the know-how in domestic liquid hydrogen research and development and in related engineering projects.
Hwang Ji-hyun, a KENTECH professor who led the research and is the lead inventor, said, "We will carry out the technology handover faithfully so that the cryogenic system engineering technology developed in our laboratory can be used in core infrastructure projects at actual industrial companies."
In February this year, the professor also transferred process technology for using cold energy from LNG and liquid hydrogen to YK Steel for 110 million won ($76,000). KENTECH said it plans to further accelerate commercialization efforts to spread research results in hydrogen, cryogenics and energy infrastructure to industrial sites.