Classification society Korean Register has granted an Approval in Principle (AiP) to South Korean company Hyundai Glovis for the world’s first basic design of a 20,000 m3-class commercial liquefied hydrogen carrier developed jointly with domestic shipbuilders, Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding.
The AiP approved the basic steps necessary for shipbuilding, and is expected to act as a technical standard in the design process to follow, Hyundai Glovis said.
On 22 October, 20 people from six companies, including Hyundai Glovis, Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding, Korea Register of Shipping, Liberian Registry, and G Marine Service, attended the AiP Ceremony, at the Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering office in Gye-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
In May, Hyundai Glovis began a basic design for joint development of the hydrogen carrier with Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding. On their part, Korea Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering developed a liquefied hydrogen cargo treatment system and a hydrogen evaporative gas treatment system using fuel cells, while Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding advanced the basic design of the ship.
As explained, in order to transport a large amount of hydrogen by ship, a liquefaction process that reduces the volume and improves safety is essential. Liquefied hydrogen has a volume of 1/800 compared to hydrogen gas, making storage and transportation much easier and more economical. Compared to the method of compressing to contain more gaseous hydrogen, it is more safe than the method of compressing, which is very advantageous in securing business feasibility.
The company now expects that this Korean collaboration among leading shipping companies and shipbuilders will create technical standards and gain an edge in the future global hydrogen shipping initiative.
