Hanwha Aerospace secures Korea's 1st approval for vessel-use hydrogen fuel cell
Hanwha Aerospace's headquarters in Seoul / Courtesy of Hanwha Aerospace
Hanwha Aerospace said Tuesday it has become the first company in Korea to win type approval for a marine hydrogen fuel cell from the Korean Register, the country’s ship classification society.
The company said this is only the fifth time worldwide that a classification society has granted type approval to a hydrogen fuel cell for ships.
Classification societies are independent bodies that set and enforce technical standards for how ships are built and operated. Type approval certifies that a product meets international maritime standards and the society’s own rules. Without it, a hydrogen fuel cell cannot be installed on ships or on offshore structures such as drilling vessels. To receive approval, the manufacturer must prove both performance and safety in harsh sea conditions.
Hanwha Aerospace said its system passed marine environment tests for conditions such as vibration and tilting. It also passed the Korean Register’s review of its manufacturing process and quality control system.
Hydrogen fuel cells make electricity from a reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and their only byproduct is water.
The company began developing marine fuel cell systems in 2024 and has been working on a 200-kilowatt model. In March 2025, Norwegian classification society DNV gave its polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell an approval in principle, an early certification at the design stage.
Hanwha Aerospace said the approved system is more than 50 percent energy efficient even at its rated output of 200 kilowatts. That lowers fuel costs and lets a ship travel farther on the same amount of fuel. The company said this suits long-distance vessels that must run at high power for long periods.
The company plans to install the fuel cells mainly on commercial ships first. It then plans to use that domestic track record to expand overseas, including with foreign shipyards.
“This type approval officially recognizes that our technology can put hydrogen fuel cells on actual ships,” a Hanwha Aerospace official said.
“Eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cells have become more important as marine environmental rules tighten, so we will step up our push into ship markets at home and abroad.”
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.