South Korean company to build container ship powered by small modular reactor

HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) is developing a project for a container vessel utilizing small modular reactor technology. A year ago it started joint research with United States–based startup TerraPower on next generation SMRs.

The maritime transportation industry is designing solutions for a clean energy transition. Among them is a vision by HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering for container ships that would run on small modular reactors or SMRs. Also known as HD KSOE, it is a subsidiary of South Korean industrial conglomerate HD Hyundai.

The shipbuilding firm also obtained approval in principle from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for its design of an SMR-powered container ship that would carry 15,000 containers of the TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) standard. It is working to enhance economic efficiency and safety. Adding an SMR means the vessel wouldn’t need to dock for refueling.

Nuclear-powered ships wouldn’t require engine exhaust systems or fuel tanks, so there is space for more containers. The company applied a radiation shielding system using a double-tank method with stainless steel and light water – the coolant and neutron moderator.

Container ships are major pollutants as they normally use heavy fuel oil – bunker fuel, which has a high sulfur content.

Shipbuilding market counting on nuclear power for decarbonization

In collaboration with energy technology company Baker Hughes, HD KSOE included a supercritical carbon dioxide–based propulsion system. It improves thermal efficiency by approximately 5% compared to steam systems, HD Hyundai said. CO2 is heated to reach a supercritical state, enabling high-efficiency power generation even at low temperatures and pressures, making it a next generation technology.

HD KSOE is cooperating with Baker Hughes and TerraPower, which is backed by Bill Gates

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 Chief Technology Officer of ABS Patrick Ryan.

HD KSOE targets 2030 for its marine nuclear business model

Head of the company’s Green Energy Research Lab Park Sangmin said HD KSOE is strengthening cooperation not only with major classification societies but also with international regulatory bodies. “Starting with the land-based SMR reactor manufacturing project, we aim to develop a marine nuclear business model by 2030,” he added.

Namely, the shipbuilder launched joint research a year ago with TerraPower. In December, HD KSOE won a contract to manufacture the main equipment for the US company’s Natrium, a sodium-cooled advanced SMR of 345 MW.

The facility is under construction in Wyoming. Bill Gates is TerraPower’s chairman and one of the main investors. The startup, founded in 2006, is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. Its technology relies on depleted uranium for fuel.