HD Hyundai Brings Together 11 South Korean Partners to Develop Marine SMRs
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HD Hyundai Heavy Industries brought together 11 South Korean partners from the shipbuilding, nuclear, and academic sectors to sign, on October 6 at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), an agreement establishing the 'SMR Maritime Technology Demonstration Centre,' a center dedicated to developing, testing, and demonstrating small modular reactor (SMR) technology for maritime use.
Who makes up the alliance
The group of 12 organizations includes HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, KEPCO Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, classification society Korean Register, Hyundai Heavy Industries Turbomachinery, and Clad Korea. On the academic and research side, participants include Ulsan Technopark, UNIST, Seoul National University, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Hanyang University.
Goals of the center
The center will combine technology, specialized personnel, and research infrastructure to jointly advance the development, testing, verification, and demonstration of maritime SMRs, laying the groundwork for their subsequent industrialization. The partners will share existing test equipment and infrastructure in order to reduce duplication of investment and improve the efficiency of technology verification, as well as develop core technologies and manage government-backed research programs.
Part of a broader strategy
The initiative adds to other recent moves by HD Hyundai in the maritime nuclear field. The day before the announcement, Hyundai Glovis and U.S. operator Liberty Global Logistics had signed an agreement to explore the commercial operation of nuclear-powered car carriers between South Korea and the United States, following an earlier project for a PCTC with an SMR reactor that received approval in principle from Lloyd's Register. HD Hyundai is also developing a design for a 15,000 TEU container ship powered by a molten salt reactor, which in November 2025 the group said was halfway complete, with a completion target of 2030, and in March signed a joint development agreement with American Bureau of Shipping to assess nuclear electric propulsion for a 16,000 TEU vessel.
Won Kwang-sik, Executive Vice President and head of the offshore energy business at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, said the new center will serve as a collaborative space that effectively connects the technology and research infrastructure of Korea's shipbuilding and nuclear sectors, and stated that they will work together with the participating organizations to progressively lay the groundwork for the demonstration and industrialization of maritime nuclear technology.
