Loughborough — UK fuel cell manufacturer Intelligent Energy (IE), South Korean partner Hogreen Air, and South Korea’s largest manufacturer of electric buses and trucks Edison Motors sign MOU for fuel cell technology.
During the H2World 2021 conference in Ulsan, South Korea on Friday 5 November, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by Jun-seong Weon (Director, Edison), Greg Harris (Sales Director, IE) and Seong-ho Hong Hong (CEO, Hogreen Air) at the stand of the British Embassy, Seoul. The MOU between the three parties aims to expand the hydrogen fuel cell market for motive applications in South Korea and shows the cooperation between the three companies to focus on integrating Intelligent Energy’s fuel cells into a range of Edison vehicles and supporting Hogreen Air’s collaboration with Edison Motors on unmanned aerial vehicles.
South Korea leads the world in the number of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on the road and is also increasing the number of hydrogen refuelling stations faster than any other country. With favourable policies supporting the use of hydrogen and fuel cells, South Korea is one of the most exciting locations to deploy fuel cell vehicles.
Mr Mike Freer MP, the UK’s Minister for Exports said: “I spent last week in Korea promoting the opportunities for collaboration which exist in renewable energy. I am delighted, therefore, to hear of this exciting agreement between Intelligent Energy, Edison Motors and Hogreen Air.”
Mike Welch, Country Director for Trade and Investment, British Embassy Seoul said: “We have been working closely with Intelligent Energy now for over a year, helping them to grow their business in South Korea. This agreement represents a great, green leap forward for each of the companies and we wish them every success as they develop their collaboration even further.”
Greg Harris, Sales Director from Intelligent Energy said: “IE is very proud to be co-operating with such an ambitious and innovative company as Edison Motors. The recently confirmed acquisition of SsangYong Motors demonstrates the scale of that ambition, and we look forward to bringing our high-power fuel cell technology to Edison’s growing vehicle range. It’s also great to further expand our existing relationship with Hogreen Air, building on our existing programmes for fuel cell drones and UPS systems.”
Seong-ho Hong, CEO of Hogreen Air said: “We will try our best to be a leader in developing next-generation eco-friendly mobility through this partnership with Intelligent Energy, a world fuel cell engineering company and Edison Motors, an electric vehicle powerhouse.”
Jun-seong Weon, Director of Edison Motors said: “I hope the partnership between the three companies this time makes good results in various motive industries and contributions to the development of hydrogen industry in South Korea.”
About Intelligent Energy
Intelligent Energy is one of the world’s leading independent fuel cell specialists, focused on the development and manufacture of its Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell products for customers in the automotive, aerospace, generator, telecoms, materials handling and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sectors. IE recently launched the IE-Drive high-power fuel cell for passenger vehicles, buses and trucks, and is actively developing the next generation of fuel cell technology for aerospace applications.
The company is headquartered and manufactures in Loughborough in the UK, with additional offices and representation in South Korea, Japan, the U.S., and China.
About Hogreen Air Ltd
Hogreen Air is specialized in drone hardware and software development and manufacture in Korea. Hogreen Air was the first in the world to successfully control drones at a distance of more than 9,000km using LTE and 5G mobile communication networks. Hogreen Air aims to change the paradigm of the existing drone market by developing a hydrogen fuel cell drone for long flight and combining various industrial solutions.
About Edison Motors
Edison Motors is the first and largest electric bus and truck manufacturer in Korea. Edison was recently confirmed as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of SsangYong Motors with the objective to combine Edison Motors’ outstanding EV technology with the people and production infrastructure of SsangYong Motors to create the best electric vehicle company in the world.
About fuel cells
Fuel cell technology is similar to battery technology in that individual cells are built up to give the desired power output. However, fuel cells do not run out of charge as batteries do and will produce power for as long as hydrogen fuel and air are provided to the cell. Hydrogen is readily available around the world, often generated using green energy.
Fuel cells are deployed in multiple applications where clean, lightweight, efficient and cost-effective power is required. Fast re-fuelling and lack of emissions makes fuel cell technology an excellent choice for forklift trucks and warehousing. Fuel cells are commonplace in clean construction and backup power for critical telecoms. Powering UAVs with fuel cells allows three times the flying time which gives significant advantages in applications such as aerial surveying and filming.
Zero emission hydrogen fuel cell technology will be preferred to battery technology in vehicles where rapid re-fuelling, high power and long range are important. Typical fuel cell applications include SUVs, buses and trucks, along with smaller cars where a high availability is critical, e.g., taxis and shared vehicles.
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