HHI Advances Ammonia Designs, Prepares to Accelerate Efforts with IPO

South Korea’s Hyundai shipbuilding group announced another significant step in its efforts to develop ammonia propulsion systems for large ocean-going vessels. The advancement comes as the shipyard group prepares to complete its IPO next week with the company saying it will use the funds to further accelerate its efforts to develop next generation green technologies and advance automation at the shipyards and in ship operations.

Korean Register issued an Approval in Principle (AiP) for a fuel system conceptual design developed by the South Korean shipbuilding group. According to the company’s statement, the system is “a highly efficient eco-friendly facility that removes nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gas by utilizing ammonia evaporative gas that is naturally generated during navigation, and uses residual evaporative gas as fuel.” They went on to describe the design concept saying it has a double leakage prevention system that can completely block even a very small amount of leakage to maintain a high level of safety.

"With this technology development, we will take a step closer to the commercialization of ammonia propulsion ships," the shipyard said in its announcement. "We will also accelerate the development of carbon-free and eco-friendly ships such as electric and hydrogen propulsion ships."

Hyundai Heavy Industries will go public on September 16, with the offering projected to raise approximately $1 billion. About a third of the funds will be used to repay existing debt while more than $500 million is targeted for eco-friendly and digital ship technologies, automation, and developing hydrogen opportunities.

The focus of the development efforts will continue to be on hydrogen and ammonia-fueled vessels, as well as electric-propulsion. The company is also working on new systems for gas carriers as the market anticipates the development of new vessels for ammonia, hydrogen, and LCO2. Other technology efforts will continue to focus on autonomous ships and increased use of technology to improve efficiency in production and safety at the company’s shipyards. Hyundai earlier this year also announced that it will expand into hydrogen production facilities as part of a Korean consortium seeking to develop hydrogen capabilities linked to the country's offshore wind energy projects.