HD Hyundai arms clinch ‘world’s first’ technology validation for brand-new electric propulsion system

August 8, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

HD Hyundai affiliates, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), have secured the ‘world’s first’ New Technology Qualification (NTQ) from classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for its ‘next-generation’ electric propulsion solution.

Per ABS, the solution in question is a breakerless medium-voltage direct current (MVDC) power system for vessels, which builds on HD Hyundai’s modular propulsion drive system.

As disclosed, the new technology qualification notation has validated the solution’s feasibility and maturity. Speaking more about this development, Sanghyun Kim, Senior Vice President of HD KSOE, elaborated that the MVDC is intended for both commercial and naval ships.

Kim also noted that the power system represents a ‘step forward’ in the company’s endeavors to explore and ‘advance’ marine electrification and overcome some of the existing technological barriers within this landscape.

According to the American Bureau of Shipping, the NTQ is the result of a collaboration between ABS, HD HHI, and HD KSOE that was first announced in May 2024. At the time, it was divulged that the parties had shaken hands to explore the application of MVDC systems on ships.

As informed, the agreement was to focus on design assessment, new technology qualification as well as the crafting of rule guidelines that would offer ‘clear’ directives on technical requirements, safety standards and regulatory compliance.

Byoung-Hun Kwon, head of HD KSOE Electrification Center, remarked back then that, for the electrification of large vessels and ship systems, marine MVDC was “essential”, particularly as the company had already engineered and tested a low-voltage direct current power system (LVDC) on several projects, including the Ulsan Taehwa, hailed as South Korea’s inaugural dual-fuel smart electric vessel.

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The agreement between ABS, HD KSOE and HD HHI, as well as the latest development, continues a years-long alliance, in which ABS has worked alongside the HD Hyundai affiliates on projects ranging from ammonia carrier designs, autonomous navigation systems, and green hydrogen production to nuclear-powered shipping.

In addition to this, to remind, in May 2025, ABS teamed up with HD Hyundai Mipo (HMD) to engineer digital manufacturing-based automation equipment for shipyards. The joint development project (JDP) is to concentrate on applying smart solutions within HMD’s yard operations that encompass AI, communication technologies, automation, and robotics.

That same month, ABS also gave its rubber stamp of approval to HD KSOE’s design of an advanced cargo handling system for very large ethane carriers (VLECs).

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