Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI), a producer of portable fuel cell power packs, said Thursday that it has joined hands with Posco SPS, a steel processing company, to develop a key component for hydrogen fuel cell power packs for drones.

Under a preliminary deal with Posco SPS, a unit of Posco International Corp., DMI will develop metal plates, 20 micrometers in thickness, to be used for hydrogen fuel cell power packs for drones.

DMI, an unlisted unit of Doosan Corp., the holding company of Doosan Group, has committed to developing hydrogen fuel cell-propelled drones in cooperation with the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) and a local shipbuilding and marine ICT provider, Marineworks.

In February, DMI signed a deal with CITIC HIC Kaicheng Intelligence Equipment Co. to release a prototype of hydrogen fuel cell-fueled firefighter robots in the first half of the year and to start commercial production within this year. (Yonhap)