Hanwha Power Systems Achieves 'First in Korea' Localization of Compressor for LNG Carriers

LNG Carrier BOG Compressor
Completion of 4-Stage LD Compressor Development Project

Establishment of LNG Ship Major Equipment Supply Chain
Contributing to Enhanced Ship Competitiveness through Stable Equipment Supply

Hanwha Power Systems is conducting a real gas test of the domestically developed 4-stage LD compressor for LNG carrier BOG. Photo by Hanwha Power Systems

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] Hanwha Power Systems has succeeded in domestic production of key equipment for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers by partnering with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and small and medium-sized partner companies.

Hanwha Power Systems announced on the 17th that it has completed the cryogenic (minus 120 degrees Celsius) demonstration test of a 4-stage LD (Low Duty) compressor, an eco-friendly LNG carrier BOG compressor, conducted as part of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s core technology development project for the shipbuilding and marine industry, achieving domestic development of key equipment for LNG carriers.

This domestic development is the first successful case in Korea, and the design verification and demonstration tests were jointly conducted with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI), and Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO).

LNG carriers transport large volumes of liquefied natural gas over long distances by sea. During maritime transport, the liquefied gas naturally vaporizes in the cryogenic cargo tanks (BOG - boil-off gas). Compressors are needed to reuse this naturally vaporized natural gas. Until now, all compressors were dependent on foreign products, but Hanwha Power Systems has succeeded in domestic production for the first time.

Additionally, improvements in LNG carrier cargo tanks have reduced natural vaporization, leading to a decrease in natural gas flow rates. This has improved from 0.15% in 1969 to 0.070~0.085% in 2017. The goal of this national project was to develop compressors that secure reliable products through normal certification and real gas testing even at these reduced flow rates.

Equipment installed on ships must consider the ship’s movement and the impact of vibrations transmitted through various paths during maritime operation, unlike fixed land equipment. To address this, Hanwha Power Systems, with cooperation from Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering participating in this project, standardized drawings and technical documents by reflecting ship characteristics and control logic from the development stage, and obtained approval of drawings and verification test results from classification societies, reaching the product commercialization stage.

From a supply and demand perspective, LNG natural gas shows the fastest demand growth in the global energy supply. Due to the global supply imbalance caused by the recent Russia-Ukraine war, large-scale project developments are accelerating, and continuous new orders for LNG carriers are expected.

Through this national project, Hanwha Power Systems has completed the development of the 4-stage LD compressor. It also plans to supply key equipment for LNG carriers in bulk to domestic shipbuilders, including Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, in cooperation with small and medium-sized enterprises. Domestic shipbuilders can now replace key equipment, which was previously fully imported from overseas companies in France, Germany, Japan, etc., with high-performance and reliable domestically produced equipment.

In particular, by conducting design verification and demonstration tests of the 4-stage LD compressor together with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute, and Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, a development network for domestic shipbuilding and marine equipment has been established. Major small and medium-sized companies (Koval, Dasco, Dreamtech, TCT, DST, Daedong Entech, etc.) also participated in the project, conducting demonstration tests on various ship equipment, which is expected to contribute to securing the domestic ship parts supply chain.

Through this, the company explained that it expects to achieve an import substitution effect of about 5 billion KRW worth of equipment per LNG carrier, create employment in domestic equipment companies, and significantly contribute to improving the trade balance due to the expansion of new LNG carrier orders.

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