NEWS

HD Hyundai is setting out to capture the global hydrogen transport market by partnering with major companies in Korea, Australia, and Japan.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HDKSOE), the shipbuilding holding company of HD Hyundai, announced on February 14 that it recently signed an MOU with Woodside Energy, the largest Australian energy company, Hyundai Glovis, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Japan’s global shipping company to cooperate in developing a maritime transport value chain for liquefied hydrogen.

Since 2022, HDKSOE has cooperated with Woodside Energy and Hyundai Glovis to jointly develop a maritime value chain solution that takes into account the trade environment for the liquefied hydrogen as well as ship operation.

As MOL newly joined the collective efforts with its knowhow accumulated for decades in the liquefied natural gas transportation sector, HDKSOE expects that current global hydrogen transportation business model will be further upgraded. 

According to the MOU, the four companies seek to develop safer, more efficient and less-emitting technologies by 2030 to transport hydrogen by sea.

HDKSOE is in charge of developing a large liquefied carrier by 2030 that is technologically and commercially feasible. HDKSOE has led the technology development in the hydrogen ship sector. To name a few, , it successfully developed Korea’s first LNG and hydrogen duel-fuel engine in 2022 and received approval in principle (AIP) from the Norwegian registrar DNV in 2023 for its proprietary hydrogen cargo system for large liquefied hydrogen carriers.

Woodside Energy will pioneer the market for liquefied hydrogen. It has continuously promoted the development of a global energy supply chain, including a Non-binding Heads of Agreement signed last year with Singapore’s Keppel Data Centres to supply liquefied hydrogen.

Hyundai Glovis and MOL will be in charge of reviewing the technological feasibility of operating a liquefied hydrogen carrier and conducting research required for ship operation.

“HDKSOE will play its role as a frontrunner in building the liquid hydrogen transport value chain with its advanced technological competence and know-how related to gas carriers,” CHANG Kwang-pil, head of HDKSOE’s Advanced Research Center said. “This collaboration will provide a venue not only to develop technologies but also to explore actual business opportunities.”

Meanwhile, HDKSOE is taking initiative in the green ship market, winning orders for the world’s first mid-sized ammonia-fueled ship and the world’s largest liquefied carbon dioxide carrier. It has received orders for a total of 43 methanol-powered container ships, the largest number in the world, and successfully delivered the first ship in September 2023.