HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering announced on Dec. 18 that it held a workshop from Dec. 17-18 at HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to present the first-year research achievements of the MIT Maritime Consortium.

This consortium was launched in March this year with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Greek shipping company Capital, and American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) as the main participants, aiming for technological innovation and global decarbonization. The workshop was attended by approximately 180 people, including experts from consortium member companies such as MIT, Capital, ABS, Greek shipping company Dorian, Singapore Institute of Marine Studies, and UK renewable energy investment company Foresight Group.

During the workshop, major achievements from the first year of research conducted through December this year were presented, including artificial intelligence (AI)-based autonomous navigation solutions, cybersecurity solutions,  advancement of SMR-powered vessel development, and 3D printing-based manufacturing technology.

In particular, the consortium selected vessels to be equipped with HiNAS Control from Avikus, HD Hyundai’s autonomous navigation specialist affiliate, and agreed to verify fuel efficiency improvement effects through this in the future. The consortium also completed the development of a prototype AI model for cyber threat detection and participated in the production of the SMR-Powered Vessel Safety Manual published by MIT in October to present standards for commercializing maritime nuclear technology.

The consortium also discussed technology development roadmap for the next three years and future core technologies for the shipbuilding and offshore industry after 2030. In particular, they exchanged opinions on decarbonization in the global market, fuel efficiency improvement standards, digital transformation, and cyber threat response strategies.

Themis Sapsis, director of MIT’s Center for Ocean Engineering, said, “The structural changes occurring in the shipbuilding and offshore industry due to strengthened environmental regulations in technology, fuel production and supply are not problems that any single company or institution can solve alone,” adding, “As cooperation is needed that encompasses all aspects of engineering, including AI technology and strengthened regulations, MIT will also concentrate its capabilities to create meaningful results.”

Jang Kwang-pil, director of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering’s Future Technology Research Institute, stated, “We will further dedicate ourselves to consortium project research and development, including establishing standards to verify the fuel efficiency improvement effects of AI-integrated autonomous navigation solutions,” and “We will strive to contribute to global technological innovation development and decarbonization based on global shipbuilding cooperation.”

Meanwhile, HD Hyundai is expanding cooperative relationships with prestigious overseas universities through educational cooperation and forum hosting, in addition to MIT. In July last year, it signed an educational cooperation MOU with the University of Michigan and Seoul National University for shipbuilding industry talent development, and as a follow-up measure, held the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Expert Forum at HD Hyundai Global R&D Center in June this year.

Source:Business Korea