Recently, HD Hyundai, the largest shipbuilding group in Korea, inaugurated the “Ship Technology Research Institute” at the HD Hyundai Global R&D Center, aiming to further occupy the future shipbuilding market.
The Institute for Ship Technology is described as an expanded and restructured version of the Ship Technology Center of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ special ship division, which will be organized and operated under the Institute for Future Technology of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE).The Institute for Future Technology serves as a “control tower” organization that supervises HD Hyundai’s research and development efforts to ensure the safety of core future technologies and to provide the necessary applications for HD Hyundai’s main business.
HD Hyundai hopes to have a technology integration system through the establishment of the Institute for Future Technology that will enable it to respond faster to the rapidly changing marine market. In particular, the Institute for Future Technology’s electrification, digitalization, and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can be quickly combined to get a head start on the future of marine technology.
Currently, the Institute for Future Technology is independently developing the driver (power conversion device for ship propulsion) that is at the heart of an electric powered ship, as well as working on the world’s first AI solution for merchant ships.
HD Hyundai will promote the three core strategies of the shipbuilding business, i.e., electrification of ships, development of automated ships, and enhancement of the competitiveness of export ships, based on the newly-established Ship Technology Research Institute, in order to gain advantages in the global shipbuilding market, and will continue to actively bring in highly-qualified professionals in the field of shipbuilding.
By this way, HD Hyundai plans to develop models of export warships while developing next-generation warships for the navy and make a strong push into the global naval defense market. According to the Janes Market Forecast, a British military magazine, the number of warships expected to be ordered in the next 10 years from this year will reach about 1,100 ships worth 113 trillion won.
Since the development of Korea’s first warship, the Ulsan, in 1975, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has been recognized for its shipbuilding technology, and has built and delivered 106 warships to date, including 18 overseas warships to New Zealand, Peru, and the Philippines.
In addition, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries announced on July 11 that it had signed a Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command, making it the first South Korean shipbuilder to sign an agreement with the U.S. Navy for the maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) of ships.
The MSRA is an agreement between the U.S. government and private shipyards to provide MRO services for U.S. ships. To participate in the MRO program for ships in service in the U.S., an MSRA must first be signed. Under the agreement, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will be eligible to bid on MRO programs for support ships owned by the U.S. Naval Supply Systems Command and U.S. Navy combatant ships over the next five years.