POSCO Power, Korea’s leading fuel cell maker, has obtained approval from the United Nations for a new fuel cell clean development mechanism (CDM) methodology it developed on its own for the first time in the world in connection with the manufacture of molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs).
The MCFC power generation system can reduce 1,648 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per megawatt annually, if natural gas is used as fuel, considering that it is about 30 percent more efficient than conventional thermal power generation. This amount of green house gas reduction is equivalent to the planting of 294,286 trees every year.
If a 2.8MW MCFC power generation system is installed, it would be possible to save about W110 million (approximately US$85,938) through the sale of emission rights under the CDM each year.
As the country's first applied case, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and POSCO Power are jointly preparing to operate an MCFC power generation system at a fuel cell power plant that was dedicated in May in Nowon-gu, Seoul.
A POSCO Power executive said, "The eco-friendliness of the MCFC power generation system has been recognized throughout the world in the wake of the UN's latest approval of the CDM methodology. With this as momentum, we'll further contribute to producing clean energies by concentrating more energy on developing and spreading the MCFC power generation system."
Meanwhile, POSCO Power succeeded in developing fuel cell balance of plant (BoP) components, peripheral facilities of the MCFC power generation system, last year, and will begin mass production of such components by dedicating a power plant stack, a key facility, in the second half of this year.
