Three major South Korean shipbuilders are set to showcase next-generation eco-friendly vessels and marine technologies at the world's largest gas exhibition. Their strategy focuses on targeting global shipowners with technologies aimed at future markets, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), ammonia, and liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carriers, as well as floating data centers.
According to industry sources, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, and Samsung Heavy Industries will participate in Gastech 2026, taking place from September 14 to 17 in Bangkok, Thailand, to highlight their advancements in eco-friendly ship technology.
Now in its 37th year, Gastech is the largest exhibition focusing on natural gas and LNG, covering low-carbon solutions, hydrogen, shipping and marine, and artificial intelligence (AI).
This year, top executives from the three shipbuilders will attend, including Jeong Gi-seon, chairman of HD Hyundai, Choi Sung-an, vice chairman of Samsung Heavy Industries, and Son Young-chang, vice president of Hanwha Ocean's product strategy technology division, to seek collaboration and order opportunities with global shipowners and classification societies.
HD Hyundai will set up a joint booth featuring five subsidiaries, including HD Korean Shipbuilding and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The booth will display models of next-generation LNG carriers, floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), and LCO2 carriers.
During the exhibition, HD Hyundai plans to conduct 30 official events, including technology certifications from global classification societies and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with major companies. A highlight will be their future LNG carrier technology, which features crew accommodations at the front of the vessel and a wind-assisted propulsion system, currently undergoing design evaluation by Lloyd's Register (LR).
Hanwha Ocean will unveil a new business model that extends shipbuilding technology to data centers. This marks the first time the company will present its self-developed 60MW floating data center (FDC) in a physical model to global clients.
The FDC is designed to address the surging demand for data centers driven by AI expansion, aiming to overcome the limitations of land-based data centers in terms of power supply, land acquisition, and cooling efficiency.
In the eco-friendly ship sector, Hanwha Ocean will showcase a 174,000 cubic meter zero-emission LNG carrier, which is being developed with an electric propulsion system based on ammonia gas turbines, targeting a fully zero-emission technology that does not use pilot oil during the ignition process.
Samsung Heavy Industries will focus on floating liquefied natural gas production facilities (FLNGs) and products for the next-generation LNG value chain, further solidifying its position in the offshore plant market after securing a large FLNG contract in June.
The three shipbuilders plan to leverage Gastech as an opportunity to expand their connections with global shipowners and classification societies while promoting their next-generation technological capabilities. Their strategy includes broadening their business scope beyond LNG to encompass ammonia, LCO2, and AI-based marine infrastructure, aiming to maintain leadership in the future shipbuilding and marine market.
An industry insider noted, "Gastech is a crucial venue for domestic shipbuilders to showcase their next-generation technologies and seek new order opportunities, as it gathers major global shipowners and classification societies in one place. As the shipbuilding and marine market rapidly expands with eco-friendly fuels and AI, competition for technological leadership in future markets will intensify."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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