Korea’s first ammonia FSRU wins LR’s green light

Lloyd’s Register (LR) has awarded Approval in Principle (AiP) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) for their ammonia floating storage re-gasification unit (FSRU), the first of its kind in Korea.

HHI’s ammonia-FSRU will store liquefied ammonia transported from production areas and can perform regasification to supply to shipowners and operators.

FRSUs are an increasingly viable alternative to meet the growing demand for liquefied gas storage and regasification and are significantly more affordable to operate than onshore plants.

The AiP follows the launching of a joint development project between LR, Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), HD HHI KSOE.

As part of the project, HHI performed the basic design of the unit whilst KSOE developed the key equipment for the regasification system and KNOC provided technical information on the construction of domestic clean ammonia acquisition and storage infrastructure projects.

“The development of FSRUs that can respond flexibly to the operating environment in a situation where the marketability of ammonia is increasing is an important element in the industrial value chain. It is expected that this AIP achievement will greatly contribute to leading HD Hyundai’s ammonia-FSRU technology and Korea National Oil Corporation’s ammonia business,” Sung-Gu Park, North East Asia President of Lloyd’s Register, said.

“We developed the first ammonia-FSRU in Korea based on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries differentiated FSRU technology accumulated over a long period of time. We will focus our capabilities on technology development so that we can lead the way,” Seung-ho Jeon, Head of Technology, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, said.

Beom-hee Ahn, Head of ESG, Korea National Oil Corporation, believes that this development will be one of the major solutions to solve pending issues in the field of clean ammonia storage infrastructure.

“We will take the lead in building a carbon-free and clean energy ecosystem through continuous cooperation with HD Hyundai and Lloyd’s Register,” he added.

The AiP follows a number of recent projects LR implemented with HHI including AiP for its new Onboard Guidance System, AiP for two container ships equipped with measures for mitigating of container loss at sea, as well as Software Conformity Assessment for HHI’s Digital Hi-PIX Digital Twin which predicts the structural integrity of an IMO Type B fuel tank.