Korean and Japanese shipbuilders are competing to get a head start in the market for liquefied hydrogen carriers, regarded as next-generation ships. As hydrogen use expands worldwide, many expect the market for liquefied hydrogen carriers to grow quickly.

According to the shipbuilding industry on the 19th, Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries recently signed a contract with Japan Suiso Energy (JSE) to build a 40,000㎥ liquefied hydrogen carrier. Backed by the Japanese government, JSE plans to complete demonstrations on the operation and handling technology of liquefied hydrogen carriers by Mar. 2031.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries built the world’s first 1,250㎥ liquefied hydrogen carrier in 2021. After the vessel completed an operational demonstration from Japan to Australia, Kawasaki Heavy Industries was evaluated to have secured the world’s most advanced liquefied hydrogen carrier construction technology.

Liquefied hydrogen carriers are high value-added vessels that require more advanced technology than liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, a market led by Korean shipbuilders. To transport natural gas in liquefied form, the ship’s temperature must be maintained at minus 163 degrees Celsius, while hydrogen must be kept 90 degrees lower, at minus 253 degrees Celsius.

Also, because even strong materials can fracture easily at cryogenic temperatures, it is much harder to build tanks for liquefied hydrogen carriers, and the way insulation and thermal barriers are used differs from LNG carriers. In addition, hydrogen’s properties make the risk of explosion high, which is cited as another reason why building liquefied hydrogen carriers is difficult.

Korea has recently been accelerating efforts to tap the liquefied hydrogen carrier market. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources formed a public-private task force on liquefied hydrogen carriers last May with major shipbuilders including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Heavy Industries.

The task force plans to complete the development of a 2,000㎥ liquefied hydrogen carrier by 2028. Because the project requires advanced technology, 101 institutions are participating to carry out 43 research and development projects. The budget投入 for liquefied hydrogen carrier development last year reached 55.5 billion won.

The recent joint push by the public and private sectors into liquefied hydrogen carrier technology stems from the judgment that this market is highly likely to become one of the main revenue sources for the Korean shipbuilding industry going forward.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global hydrogen demand reached 100 million tons last year. Hydrogen is mainly transported from commodity-exporting countries such as Australia, South America and the Middle East to manufacturing-centered countries such as Korea, Japan and China.

Because liquefied hydrogen shrinks to one-800th the volume of gaseous hydrogen, making it more economical, demand for liquefied hydrogen carriers increases as the hydrogen economy ecosystem becomes more active. The IEA projected that the total number of liquefied hydrogen carriers built by 2050 would reach around 200.

Another reason Korean shipbuilders are focusing on localizing liquefied hydrogen carrier technology is to save on hefty licensing fees paid to foreign firms.

Korean shipbuilders currently cannot independently produce all of the cargo tanks (storage tanks for cooled natural gas) installed on LNG carriers, and pay royalties each year to France’s GTT, which provides the technology. In 2024, the LNG cargo tank royalties the three Korean shipbuilders paid to GTT totaled 995.4 billion won.

An industry official said, “It is true that Japan is about a half-step ahead in liquefied hydrogen carrier construction capabilities, but it has not yet secured technology at a perfect level.” The official added, “As everything from design to equipment development and production is being built from scratch, both Korea and Japan will go through multiple trials and errors,” and “we believe we can catch up sufficiently.”

Source: Chosun Biz