Hyundai Steel Senior Vice President Kwon Tae-woo, head of the Product Development Center (left), and Moon Young-hwan, head of DNV Korea Maritime's Technology Development Support division, pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony for establishing a certification framework and joint technology development for future energy steel and welding technology. [Provided by Hyundai Steel]
Hyundai Steel Senior Vice President Kwon Tae-woo, head of the Product Development Center (left), and Moon Young-hwan, head of DNV Korea Maritime's Technology Development Support division, pose for a photo at the MOU signing ceremony for establishing a certification framework and joint technology development for future energy steel and welding technology. [Provided by Hyundai Steel]

Hyundai Steel is joining forces with DNV (Det Norske Veritas), a global classification and certification body that conducts inspection, certification and international standard development for the shipbuilding, offshore plant and energy sectors, to strengthen the technological competitiveness of steel used in energy transport and storage.

Hyundai Steel announced Tuesday that it signed an MOU with DNV on Monday at DNV's Korea headquarters for its classification business in Busan, covering the establishment of a certification framework and joint technology development for future energy steel and welding technology.

The signing ceremony was attended by Hyundai Steel Senior Vice President Kwon Tae-woo, head of the Product Development Center; Lee Dong-seok, head of the Applied Technology Division; Moon Young-hwan, head of DNV Korea Maritime's Technology Development Support division; and Kim Gwang-su, chief inspector. The parties agreed to jointly pursue the development of performance evaluation and verification technology for steel used in future energy transport and storage; the establishment of testing and evaluation methods that account for actual operating environments; the verification of weld reliability; and the expansion of a certification framework aligned with international standards.

As markets for ammonia, hydrogen and other energy carriers continue to grow, the safety and reliability of materials used in the ships and offshore plants that transport and store them have become increasingly critical.

Under the agreement, the two companies will conduct joint research on steel for ships and offshore plants used in energy transport and storage. They plan to establish steel evaluation methods that reflect real-world vessel operation and storage conditions, and to cooperate on technology standardization and the expansion of international certification frameworks based on their research findings.

Hyundai Steel will leverage its research infrastructure and materials development and evaluation capabilities to carry out testing and analysis of steel and welds, while DNV will draw on its expertise in international standards and certification to help establish evaluation criteria and provide technical advisory support.

Through this collaboration, Hyundai Steel aims to systematically verify the safety and reliability of energy steel and enhance its technological competitiveness across the full chain from product development to performance evaluation and certification.

"Through our collaboration with DNV, we will proactively build the technological competitiveness that meets international standards while improving the performance and reliability of steel that the global energy market demands," a Hyundai Steel official said.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Steel plans to focus on securing new demand in the second half of this year, centering on the AI and energy industries.

The company's strategy is to target infrastructure construction demand linked to the recently announced "three mega projects of the Republic of Korea" and expand its supply of steel for AI core infrastructure facilities.


likehyo85@heraldcorp.com