Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Opens Era of Smart Electric Propulsion Ships

Construction of Eco-Friendly Smart Ships Applying ICT Technologies Such as Electric Propulsion Systems and Smart Remote Monitoring
124 Billion USD Market by 2029... "We Will Lead the Future Shipbuilding Industry by Expanding Technology to Large Vessels"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering is accelerating its lead in the next-generation eco-friendly ship market by independently developing electric propulsion shipbuilding technology.

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, a subsidiary of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, announced on the 29th that it recently signed a construction contract with the Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency (UIPA) for one ICT-converged electric propulsion smart ship.

This contract is part of the national project supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), titled ‘ICT Converged Electric Propulsion Smart Ship Construction and Demonstration Project.’ On the 29th (Wednesday), Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering held a kickoff meeting for ship construction at the Ulsan Technopark with UIPA and others.

The contracted ship measures 89.2 meters in length, 12.8 meters in width, and 5.4 meters in height, capable of carrying 375 passengers and sailing at a maximum speed of 16 knots. It will be built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan and delivered in October 2022. Afterwards, it will be used as a whale sea tour ship in Jangsaengpo, Ulsan.

Until now, electric propulsion systems for ships have been entirely imported from overseas. Through this order, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering is officially commercializing electric propulsion ships using independent domestic technology.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group received the world’s first basic approval for a fuel cell-linked hybrid electric propulsion ship from DNV-GL classification society in March last year. By the end of the same year, it established a demonstration center for applying next-generation solid oxide fuel cells to ships, dedicating efforts to developing next-generation electric propulsion systems.

In particular, this ship will be built as an eco-friendly smart ship applying four core ICT convergence technologies for the first time in Korea: ▲DC Grid-based electric propulsion system ▲dual-fuel engine ▲intelligent integrated control system ▲remote monitoring smart solution.

Additionally, the latest smart ship technologies will be applied, including the ‘intelligent integrated control system’ that provides collision avoidance and berthing guidance support systems and optimal route recommendations, the ‘smart remote monitoring technology’ that supports ship monitoring and operation, and the ‘smart maintenance function’ that autonomously diagnoses aging equipment onboard.

At the kickoff meeting, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed a four-party memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, and Hyundai Global Service for the ‘development of smart ship and electric propulsion system technology.’ According to this agreement, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Ulsan City will cooperate throughout all processes from technology development, design, construction, test operation, to certification of Korean-style smart electric propulsion ships.

According to IDtechEX, a global market forecasting specialist, the market size related to electric propulsion ships is expected to grow from $800 million in 2018 to $12.4 billion by 2029.

A Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering official said, “This order is significant because it represents a public-private collaboration for the development of Korean-style smart electric propulsion ships,” adding, “In the future, we will expand and apply the technology not only to small and medium-sized ships but also to large vessels, leading the future shipbuilding industry.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.