HD KSOE takes wraps off 15,000 TEU nuclear containership design

Image: HD KSOE

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), an intermediary holding company for HD Hyundai’s shipbuilding sector has obtained Approval in Principle (AIP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for a 15,000 TEU-class nuclear containership design applying small modular reactor technology.

Earlier this week it used Core Power’s Nuclear for Maritime Houston Summit to take the wraps off a model of the nuclear containership design.

The newly unveiled design model features enhanced economic efficiency and safety by incorporating actual equipment and safety design concepts.

Unlike conventional ships, nuclear-powered vessels do not require engine exhaust systems or fuel tanks. HD KSOE has optimized the space previously occupied by large engine room equipment to accommodate additional containers, enhancing economic efficiency. The company has also applied a marine radiation shielding system using a double-tank method with stainless steel and light water, which is used as a coolant and neutron moderator in reactors, to ensure safety.

Additionally, HD KSOE, in collaboration with Baker Hughes, has applied a supercritical carbon dioxide-based propulsion system, improving thermal efficiency by approximately 5% compared to existing steam-based propulsion systems. It explains that this is a “technology that generates energy by heating carbon dioxide in a supercritical state. It enables high-efficiency power generation even at low temperatures and pressures, making it a next-generation power generation technology.”

HD KSOE plans to establish a marine nuclear demonstration facility at its Future Technology Test Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to verify safety designs.

“Nuclear-powered vessels can be a game-changer in the current shipbuilding market, where carbon neutrality is emerging,” said Patrick Ryan, CTO at ABS. “ABS and HD KSOE will contribute to accelerating the commercialization of marine nuclear technology in the global shipbuilding market.”

How far off is the SMR technology that’s key to the nuclear containership? HD Hyundai is already working with U.S. nuclear technology company TerraPower to build components for a type of SMR, specifically a fourth-generation sodium fast reactor (SFR), that is planned to be in operation in Wyoming by 2030. More on that HERE