Lee Young-ho, head of Hyundai Movex's R&D division (fourth from left, top row), poses with attendees at the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center opening ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]
Lee Young-ho, head of Hyundai Movex's R&D division (fourth from left, top row), poses with attendees at the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center opening ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. [Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Hyundai Movex announced Tuesday that it has been selected as the lead research and development agency for the 2026 Shipbuilding and Offshore Industry Technology Development Project and has signed an R&D cooperation agreement with the United States as part of a Korea-US shipbuilding collaboration initiative.

The project is a government-funded undertaking led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT), aimed at supporting the development of foundational and core technologies as well as equipment in the shipbuilding and offshore plant sectors to strengthen export competitiveness and secure new markets.

Among eight new tasks under the shipbuilding initiative, Hyundai Movex was designated as the lead agency for a project to develop and demonstrate core autonomous driving technology for intelligent heavy-load transporters capable of moving ultra-large blocks — the large structural units used in ship assembly — safely and efficiently, as part of a broader push to transform smart ship manufacturing.

The project runs for 42 months and will receive 19 billion won ($13 million) in government funding. Its goal is to develop autonomous transport technology for shipyard blocks and validate it at a US shipyard.

To advance shipbuilding process innovation, Hyundai Movex plans to develop ultra-heavy autonomous transport robots, integrated control and virtual driving verification systems, AI-based block transport stability simulations, and overseas demonstration support scenarios.

Eight institutions are participating as joint R&D partners, including major shipbuilders Samsung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Heavy, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Hanwha Ocean.

The national R&D project is being carried out through technology exchange and cooperation between South Korea and the United States. On Thursday, the two countries held the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center opening ceremony in Washington, D.C., with the industry ministers of both countries in attendance, along with the signing of memoranda of agreement between institutions and an R&D technology exchange forum.

The event was organized to share R&D plans between the two countries in line with the US government's commitment to revitalizing its shipbuilding industry, and to strengthen technology exchange and cooperation between research institutions on both sides.

At the event, Hyundai Movex signed a technology cooperation memorandum of agreement with SwRI (Southwest Research Institute), a major US research organization. The company then presented its R&D plans for autonomous transport technology in ship manufacturing at the technology exchange forum and attended the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center opening ceremony.

SwRI is a nonprofit R&D institution founded in 1947 that conducts advanced technology research and development for government agencies — including the Department of Defense, NASA and the Department of Energy — as well as global companies in the automotive, aerospace and semiconductor sectors.

Hyundai Movex was also selected in 2024 as the lead agency for a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy project to design an ultra-large, ultra-precision autonomous mobile robot platform and demonstrate its drive modules.

"We are honored to participate in this important Korea-US shipbuilding cooperation project and will ensure the research and development proceeds without a hitch," a Hyundai Movex official said. "This project will serve as a crucial opportunity to further advance our AI- and robotics-integrated autonomous transport technology and continue expanding into global markets."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Movex renewed all five of its ISO management system certifications by the end of April this year, covering environmental management (ISO 14001), occupational health and safety (ISO 45001), quality management (ISO 9001), anti-bribery management (ISO 37001) and compliance management (ISO 37301).

The certifications cover the full lifecycle — development, design, manufacturing, construction and maintenance — across all business divisions, including smart logistics, platform screen doors and IT services. The company said it met international standard requirements and passed surveillance audits through continuous improvement of its management systems.


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