SEOUL, June 14 (Korea Bizwire) – In a collaborative effort to advance the development of liquid
hydrogen carriers, five leading South Korean shipbuilding and steel companies
have joined forces to conduct research on cargo tank materials for these
next-generation vessels.
Samsung Heavy Industries
announced on June 13 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with HD
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Hanwha Ocean, POSCO, Hyundai
Steel, and the Korean Register of Shipping (KR) to standardize material testing
for liquid hydrogen ship cargo tanks.
Hydrogen, touted as a future
clean energy source, is transported in a liquefied state after being cooled to
minus 253 degrees Celsius and compressed to one-eighth of its gaseous volume.
The key challenge in designing
liquid hydrogen carriers lies in maintaining the cargo tanks at ultra-low
temperatures to safely store the liquefied hydrogen.
Recognizing that the impact
resistance of ship materials decreases at ultra-low temperatures compared to
room temperature, the five companies and KR have agreed to collaborate on
researching the properties of various materials under these extreme conditions.
Through this partnership, the
participants will share data and experimental results on material property
changes in ultra-low-temperature environments. Additionally, they aim to
contribute to the international standardization of liquid hydrogen cargo tank
design.
The collective effort is
expected to provide South Korea with a strong technological foundation to
establish a leading position in the emerging liquid hydrogen carrier market.
“With the Korean Register of
Shipping and the country’s three major shipbuilders and two steel giants
collaborating on this joint research, this cooperation is poised to
significantly contribute to securing market dominance for South Korean
companies in the future liquid hydrogen carrier market,” said the director of
one participating shipbuilder’s research institute.