- KORDI's deep seawater HVAC system demonstration -

□ At 1 PM on the 11^th, Republic of Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute (KORDI, President Jung Geuk Kang) held a demonstration of its' deep seawater HVAC system,' which uses deep seawater for cooling and heating, at the Deep Ocean Water Application Research Center in Goseong, Gangwon-do Province. 

□ In the past, deep seawater has only been applied to drinking water and broad industrial uses, including agriculture and fishing industries, but it is expected that it will be a clean source of green energy in the future.

ㅇ KORDI is planning to promote R&D and business pertaining to the use of deep seawater for HVAC system and energy technology from 2010 through 2015, with the support of the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs. The research team aims to commercialize the HVAC system in the first phase and establish temperature difference power generation system in the second phase.

- The demonstration was held to show the performance of the first phase and the importance of deep seawater's use for green technology. The first phase involves applying the green city system and designing a large-capacity HVAC system for underwater city (cooling 1,000RT, heating 3.5MW and cooling 2,000RT, heating 7.0MW), and the smaller-capacity 60RT pilot plant has been installed at Deep Ocean Water Application Research Center for a test run. 

□ Advanced countries such as the USA and Japan have already developed and applied HVAC systems using low-temperature deep seawater and temperature difference power generation technology.

ㅇ Japan used deep seawater for cooling and heating deep seawater collection facility (Kouchi, Okinawa etc.) labs to achieve an energy-saving effect of 77%. In the U.S., deep seawater from a depth of 690m is used for cooling coastal hotels in Guam, saving 8.4 MW of electricity and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 45,000 tons per year. 

□ Tests and analyses of the deep seawater HVAC system show that it is expected to reduce cooling/heating costs by approx. 86% and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 67%.

□ KORDI is planning to expand the use of the deep seawater HVAC system and use it with new renewable energies to achieve zero CO₂ emissions.