Certification obtained at Posidonia 2026; container ship MSR engine development expanded to car carriers
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, both shipbuilding affiliates of HD Hyundai, announced Friday they received approval in principle from Lloyd's Register for the concept design of a large pure car and truck carrier powered by a molten salt reactor at Posidonia 2026, a maritime exhibition held in Athens, Greece.
The project was jointly developed with Hyundai Glovis, J-Marine Services and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. HD Hyundai led the vessel concept design and technical review, while Hyundai Glovis contributed operational insights from its PCTC experience, J-Marine Services conducted a ship management review, and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute handled the MSR technology assessment.
An MSR is a type of small modular reactor (SMR) that uses molten salt — a mixture of nuclear fuel and coolant — as its fuel source. It is widely regarded as ideal for maritime nuclear power generation due to its high safety standards and efficiency.
HD Hyundai has been developing MSR-powered container ships and has now extended that effort to car carriers. An SMR-propelled PCTC can sustain high output without fuel constraints, enabling long-distance, high-speed voyages, and produces zero carbon emissions. Once SMR-based vessel development is complete, HD Hyundai is expected to widen its lead over Chinese rivals in the high-value ship market.
Five HD Hyundai affiliates — HD Hyundai Heavy, HD Hyundai Samho, HD Hyundai Marine Solution, Avikus and HD Hyundai Electric — participated in the five-day exhibition, which concluded Friday. During the event, HD Hyundai received certifications from global classification societies for a range of technologies, including what it says is the industry's first liquefied petroleum gas dual-fuel container ship and an LPG carrier equipped with enhanced-safety Type-B tanks.
HD Hyundai Heavy signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding with Skaramangas Shipyard, Greece's largest shipyard, covering joint participation in projects including Greek navy and coast guard vessels and manned-unmanned teaming systems incorporating unmanned surface vessels. Avikus signed a separate MOU with HJ Shipbuilding to adopt its autonomous navigation solution HiNAS Control as the standard specification for all commercial vessels built by HJ Shipbuilding.
yeongdai@heraldcorp.com
