HD Hyundai’s new tech gets ABS nod

HD Hyundai subsidiaries, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), have received an approval from the American Bureau of Shipping for their electric propulsion technology.

IMAGE: Germany's 'first' fully electric passenger ferry. Damen Shipyards

The new system, based on medium-voltage direct current (MVDC) electric propulsion technology for vessels, is the first of its kind to receive a New Technology Qualification (NTQ), according to the classification society.

The certification indicates "the technology’s feasibility and maturity through a systematic evaluation program,"American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) said.

The technology enables more efficient power distribution on vessels by reducing transmission losses.

MVDC systems can transmit direct current (DC) at voltages ranging from 1.5 kV to 100 kV, enabling greater energy efficiency than traditional alternating current (AC) setups. HD Hyundai aims to deploy this technology on large electric-powered vessels.

“We aim to lead the commercialization of zero-carbon electric propulsion vessels,” said Sanghyun Kim, HD KSOE senior vice-president.

This certification follows an agreement reached in May 2024 between the classification society and HD Hyundai subsidiaries to develop MVDC systems for ships.

The next phase of the project will focus on creating dedicated ABS standards for high-voltage systems, ABS said.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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