Rotork linear actuators have been selected to control the flow of hydrogen gas at a fuel cell power plant in South Korea.

More than 90 CVL linear electric actuators and 184 ExMax quarter-turn electric actuators are to be installed on US fuel cell technology company Doosan Fuel Cell’s project at a Hanhwa Total Co. Ltd plant in Daesan.

The actuators will operate globe and ball valves which control the flow of hydrogen gas in fuel cells at the site. Each fuel cell will include two CVL actuators and four ExMax actuators.

A fuel cell is a generator which creates electricity and heat through the electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. It has no transmission or distribution costs meaning it can reduce energy costs by more than 25%. It is also able to operate 365 days a year and provides renewable energy which can be adjusted on-off depending on a customer’s requirements.  

The CVL includes an explosionproof feature which was key in the customer specifying the Rotork product while the ExMax includes a fast spring return function which will also improve the failsafe efficiency and accuracy of the operation.

Rotork’s CVL actuators use a 1-phase or DC power supply to provide highly accurate and responsive continuous modulation of control valves without the complexity and cost of a pneumatic supply. 

The CVL ensures extremely accurate flow control with resolution figures better than 0.1% and repeatable positional control using a 4-20 mA signal. It features a thrust range of 890 N to 22,241 N (200 to 5,000 lbf). With an on-board data logger included as standard, the CVL is Bluetooth® compatible for local setup, control and diagnostics.

Rotork’s robust and lightweight ExMax actuator uses a 24-240 VAC/VDC power supply and provides a torque range of 5 to 150 Nm (3.7 to 110.6 lbf.ft) and can operate in temperatures ranging from -40  to +50 °C (-40 to +122 °F). It also provides ingress protection to IP68 standards and is ATEX explosionproof certified.