NEWS

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HDKSOE) unveiled new technology to enhance the stability of ammonia-fueled ships, which are gaining the spotlight as next-generation eco-friendly ships. 

HDKSOE announced on June 2 that it held the Global Tech Forum in Athens, Greece on May 31, inviting 100 global shipbuilding and shipping industry officials, and unveiled new green technology that reduces toxic gas emissions from ammonia fuel to zero level.

Ammonia-powered ships currently under development by global shipbuilders are attracting attention as eco-friendly ships with no carbon emissions at all, but how to safely eliminate the toxicity risk of ammonia has been a key issue in ship development.

Global companies such as EURONAV, THENAMARIS, and NYK, who attended the Global Tech Forum, expressed great interests in various solutions related to the risk of leakage, which is considered the biggest drawback in commercializing ammonia as ship fuel.

In this regard, HDKSOE revealed its Integrated Ammonia Scrubber technology at this Forum, which was developed with its own technology to further strengthen the stability of ships.

The Integrated ammonia scrubber is the next-generation eco-friendly technology that can absorb ammonia emissions twice and reduce emissions to nearly zero levels. In addition, the safety factor was further upgraded with its proprietary design that places the exhaust outlet far away from the crew’s living quarters.

On the same day, HDKSOE also unveiled ‘AI Ship Management System’ and ‘Remote Drone System’ that it is currently developing with its own technology. HDKSOE emphasized that if these systems are applied to ammonia-fueled ships, it will detect ammonia leak sources in real-time, thereby preventing accidents in advance.

Park Seung-yong, President of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) said, “HD Hyundai has the largest number of gas ship construction performances and proprietary technologies in the world. We will lead the future ship market based on our accumulated eco-friendly technology know-how.”

HDKSOE received orders for two ammonia-fueled LPG carriers last year for the first time in the world and has received orders for a total of four ammonia-fueled ships to date.

Meanwhile, HDKSOE will participate in ‘Posidonia 2024’ to be held in Athens, Greece for five days starting on June 3 and will showcase eco-friendly future technologies to realize ‘IMO 2050.’ Posidonia is one of the world's top three shipbuilding and marine exhibitions, along with Nor-shipping in Norway and the International Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology Trade Fair in Germany. This year, 77 countries and 2,000 companies are expected to visit the exhibition.