HD Hyundai to produce key ship electrification part LV VFD in-house

South Korea’s HD Hyundai Co., the parent of the world’s top shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., said on Tuesday it has developed a high-capacity low-voltage drive, a key part in ship electrification.

The component, known as low voltage variable frequency drive (LV VFD), is a device that maximizes power production efficiency by adjusting motor speed.

It plays a key role in a ship’s shaft generator system, which produces electricity by utilizing part of the power generated from a ship's propulsion engine.

The newly developed ship VFD incorporates grid-forming technology to enhance the efficiency of power usage and can precisely control motors without the need for an additional speed sensor, according to the company.

TO MAKE ALL SHAFT GENERATOR SYSTEM PARTS IN-HOUSE

With the development of LV VFD, HD Hyundai said it is now able to produce all components of the shaft generator system with its technology.

On Monday, HD Hyundai, together with its three affiliates and tech partners – HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (HD KSOE), HD Hyundai Electric Co. and HD Hyundai Plaspo Co., held a demonstration of a 3 megavolt-ampere (MVA) class VFD for ships at HD Hyundai Electric’s plant in Ulsan, south of Seoul.

"This achievement is significant in that we have secured proprietary core technology that allows us to proactively respond to decarbonization regulations. We will spare no effort to become the leader in the global ship electrification market,” said Cho Seok, chief executive of HD Hyundai Electric.

Meanwhile, HD Hyundai Marine Solution Co., a ship repair and maintenance service affiliate of the HD Hyundai Group, clinched a $37 million contract last month to supply the shaft generator system for 17 LNG carriers to a shipping company in the Middle East.

Write to Hyeon-woo Oh at ohw@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.