Taehwaho Unfurls Eco-Friendly Sails... Ulsan Consortium Leads Hybrid Ship Development

Ministry of Industry Selected for Integrated Module System Development Project

“Energy Optimal Control System, Demonstration and Commercialization”

The eco-friendly ship full lifecycle technology development project being promoted in Ulsan has taken off.

On the 9th, Ulsan City announced that the Ulsan regional consortium was finally selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's public contest for the 'Development and Verification of Hybrid Propulsion Ship Energy Integrated Module System' to promote the eco-friendly ship full lifecycle core technology development project.

The consortium includes Humax Mobility as the lead company, along with Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering, and Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency.

The eco-friendly ship full lifecycle core technology development project aims to lead the future market of eco-friendly ships by developing core technologies for zero-carbon fuel ships and hybrid propulsion ships including electric propulsion, and achieving commercialization through land and sea demonstration of the developed technologies.

The selected project focuses on developing energy operation technology and an integrated platform (PEMS, Power & Energy Management System) for two types of hybrid electric propulsion ships: large commercial vessels and coastal small-to-medium-sized ships. It aims to secure suitability for installation on demonstration ships through function, performance, and reliability verification, and to establish a commercialization foundation through various certifications.

Development project details by consortium.

Demonstration will be conducted using the hybrid electric propulsion ship Taehwa-ho, operated by Ulsan City.

This project will be carried out over a total of 2 years and 9 months from April this year to December 2025, with a total budget of 4.26 billion KRW, including 2.5 billion KRW in national funds secured through the contest, 250 million KRW from the city, and 1.51 billion KRW in private investment.

A total of 52 researchers from seven institutions?Humax Mobility, Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, GeoSoft, SW Innovation, Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering Ulsan Headquarters Electric Propulsion & Safety Technology Center, Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency, and Korea Maritime and Ocean University?will be involved.

Specifically, development will proceed divided into two concepts: coastal ships and medium-to-large ships.

Humax Mobility will develop energy operation technology and the integrated platform (PEMS) for coastal ships, while Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering will handle the same for medium-to-large ships. Power system solutions such as fuel cells, energy storage systems (ESS), engines, and onshore charging will be developed by GeoSoft and SW Innovation.

Performance verification and certification will be conducted by the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering Ulsan Headquarters Electric Propulsion & Safety Technology Center, and sea demonstration will be carried out by the Ulsan Information Industry Promotion Agency.

The developed system will be installed on future coastal and medium-to-large eco-friendly hybrid propulsion ships, expected to improve fuel consumption and efficiency by more than 5% compared to existing systems, and enhance power system stability and carbon reduction effects.

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