Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Tuesday it has obtained an approval for the design of a fuel cell-based power system for ships from DNV GL, a Norwegian-German ship quality assurance company.

The power system based on the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), energy conversion devices that generate electricity will substitute some part of 3 megawatt power-generating engines to be mounted on A-max oil tankers, Korea Shipbuilding said.

The A-Max tankers refer to 85,000 to 125,000-deadweight-tonnage oil tankers.

The SOFC-based power system can increase generating efficiency by 43 percent compared with internal combustion engines and reduce the emission level of Co2 by more than 40 percent, the company said.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is considering reducing the emission level of individual ships by 70 percent by 2050 compared with 2008. (Yonhap)