Doosan Enerbility chief sets ambitious goals for gas turbine contracts

[Photo provided by Doosan Enerbility]

In a bold declaration, Doosan Enerbility Chairman Park Gee-won has announced 2024 as the inaugural year for an expansive increase in contracts for large gas turbines at the South Korean conglomerate. With a significant accumulation of contract wins since last year, the company aims to elevate the cumulative value of gas turbine contracts to over 7 trillion won ($5.28 billion) by 2028.

On Thursday, Park, accompanied by key executives, visited the gas and hydrogen turbine manufacturing site within the company’s headquarters in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, to boost morale among employees and assess the business’s status.

During the visit, Park expressed confidence, saying that “this year will mark the beginning of a substantial expansion in domestic orders for the jointly developed K gas turbines by over 340 academia-industry partnerships.”

“Building on the success of gas turbine development, we aim to solidify our position as a global leader in the hydrogen turbine sector, emerging as a key player in high-efficiency, carbon-neutral power generation technologies.”

In 2019, Doosan Enerbility became the fifth company in the world to successfully develop a large gas turbine after the United States, Germany, Japan, and Italy. After the initial supply of gas turbines to the Gimpo Combined Cycle Power Plant succeeded in commercial operation in July last year, the company secured consecutive gas turbine supply contracts for the Boryeong Combined Cycle Power Plant and Andong Combined Cycle Power Plant. In 2023, Doosan Enerbility garnered a total of 2.2 trillion won in gas turbine business contracts, constituting 24 percent of the overall contract value of 8.9 trillion won and ranking second after the nuclear power business (4.2 trillion won).

Last year, the company won a total of 2.2 trillion won in orders in the gas turbine business. This accounted for 24 percent of the company’s total orders of 8.9 trillion won last year. In terms of orders by business sector, it was second only to the nuclear power business (4.2 trillion won).

As the nation transitions towards low-carbon energy sources in its power generation sector, Doosan Enerbility anticipates a significant increase in the utilization of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for power generation, further heightening expectations for additional contract wins.

According to the government’s 10th Basic Plan for Power Supply, the capacity of LNG power generation facilities is projected to increase from 43.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2023 to 62.9 GW by 2036. Capitalizing on the momentum of gas turbine contracts, Doosan Enerbility has set a target to secure contracts exceeding 7 trillion won domestically by 2028. The company has also raised its 2024 contract acquisition goal to 3.7 trillion won, up 68 percent from the previous year.

Chairman Park emphasizes the company’s future vision, envisioning Doosan Enerbility as a global leader in the hydrogen turbine sector. Leveraging its gas turbine development capabilities, the company aims to lead the nascent blue ocean market for hydrogen turbines, where no dominant players have emerged, unlike the gas turbine market dominated by advanced economies.

Since 2020, Doosan Enerbility has been developing high-efficiency H-grade hydrogen turbines with a target of 50 percent hydrogen blending as part of a national project led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. These turbines are crafted from ultra-high-temperature alloy materials capable of withstanding temperatures exceeding 1,500 degrees Celsius. Compared to conventional hydrogen turbines, the H-grade turbines are expected to save about 46 billion won in annual fuel costs and reduce annual carbon emissions by around 50,000 tons, with a potential carbon emission reduction of up to 23 percent compared to traditional LNG power turbines.

Doosan Enerbility is also pushing forward to develop the world’s first 400-megawatt-class ultra-large hydrogen combustion turbines by 2027.