Hanwha Defense Signs MOU with Danfoss for Eco-Friendly Electric Propulsion Ship Business

by Lee Kimin

Published 14 Jan.2021 08:34(KST)

Updated 15 Mar.2023 08:48(KST)

Hanwha Defense and Danfoss Korea Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cooperation in the ship electrification business on the 13th at the Hanwha Building in Jung-gu, Seoul. From left, Jongwoo Kwak, Head of Domestic Business Division at Hanwha Defense; Jaeil Son, CEO of Hanwha Defense; Seongyeop Kim, Head of Northeast Asia at Danfoss; Dongyoung Ryu, Head of Drive Business Division at Danfoss.

Photo by Hanwha Defense

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hanwha Defense announced on the 14th that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Danfoss Korea Co., Ltd., an energy efficiency solutions specialist, to develop and expand the supply of eco-friendly electric propulsion ships.

The signing ceremony held the previous day was attended by Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Defense, Kwak Jong-woo, Head of Domestic Business Division, Kim Sung-yeop, General Manager of Danfoss Korea, and Ryu Dong-young, Head of the Drive Business Division, among others.

Under this MOU, both companies will jointly conduct technology exchange, customer response, and market development related to the electrification of propulsion systems for deep-sea marine vessels and coastal vessels including inland waterways.

Through the technological alliance between Hanwha Defense’s high-safety ship Energy Storage System (ESS) and Danfoss’s frequency converter (PCS) technology, they plan to jointly develop electric propulsion systems for electric and hybrid ships and supply them to eco-friendly vessels including domestic government ships.

The shipboard ESS supplied by Hanwha Defense is a product separately developed to suit ship operating environments based on lithium battery system technology for submarines. The companies expect that when combined with Danfoss’s high-efficiency drive solutions, an optimized propulsion system for eco-friendly ships will be configured.

Hanwha Defense and Danfoss Korea previously established a cooperative system related to future eco-friendly ship projects by jointly bidding for a hybrid electric propulsion system supply project for a specific government ship and being selected by the equipment selection committee.

With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) strengthening greenhouse gas regulations and the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) implementation announcement, the global shipbuilding and shipping market is transitioning from conventional fuel ships to future eco-friendly ship systems. In response, the government is promoting the ‘Green Ship-K’ policy to secure technology for reducing ship emissions by 70%. Accordingly, it is expected that a total of 528 vessels, including 388 government ships and 140 private vessels, will be converted to eco-friendly ships by 2030.

Son Jae-il, CEO of Hanwha Defense, said, “We are very pleased to cooperate with Danfoss Korea, which possesses various products and solutions related to ship electrification, including frequency converters.” He added, “We plan to actively cooperate to develop and expand the supply of eco-friendly ships in line with the government’s ‘Green New Deal’ and ‘Green Ship-K’ policies.”