Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Fostering Eco-friendly, Digital, and Energy Startups

Open Innovation Startup Recruitment Open Until June 20
"Seeking New Business to Improve Structure... Planned Expansion to All Group Companies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) is set to foster startups in future technology sectors such as eco-friendly, energy, and digital fields.

KSOE announced on the 9th that it will jointly recruit startups to participate in "Open Innovation" with the Korea International Trade Association. Open Innovation is an innovation strategy where companies share internal resources to procure necessary technologies and ideas from external sources. Participating in this open recruitment are Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, and Hyundai Global Service, all subsidiaries in the shipbuilding division of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group. The plan is to expand this to all group companies in construction machinery and energy sectors in the future. KSOE serves as the intermediate holding company for the shipbuilding division of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group.

The recruitment fields include ▲eco-friendly technologies (such as ship energy efficiency) ▲future energy (hydrogen, ammonia, etc.) ▲digital services (technologies enhancing customer convenience) ▲smart shipyards (production, safety, etc.) ▲construction innovation technologies ▲new businesses linked to shipbuilding and offshore industries. Applications and collaboration proposals can be submitted through the Korea International Trade Association's open innovation platform "InnoBranch" from today until the 20th of next month. Afterwards, KSOE will conduct document screening, one-on-one briefing sessions, and a final presentation attended by top executives. Selected companies will be offered opportunities such as new technology verification (PoC) using KSOE's infrastructure and participation in joint projects. Outstanding companies may also receive equity investment.

Through this open recruitment, KSOE aims to find startups with growth potential and opportunities for new business collaboration. Participating companies are expected to gain opportunities to commercialize their technologies and ideas and enter the global market. Kim Sung-jun, head of KSOE's Future Technology Research Institute, stated, "Our company is accelerating the transformation from a so-called 'heavy and large-scale' company to a technology-centered 'cutting-edge technology innovation company.' We will collaborate with startups possessing fresh ideas and technologies to expand the industrial ecosystem, discover new growth engines, and expand business areas."

Hyundai Heavy Industries Group continues to invest in securing future technologies in the shipbuilding and offshore sectors. It established Avikus, a specialized company for autonomous ship navigation solutions, which succeeded in Korea's first fully autonomous ship navigation last year. The group also plans to promote the "FOS" project, a digital-based future shipyard initiative aiming to minimize human intervention by 2030.

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