KRISO Launches SMR-powered Ship R&D Project□ Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO, President Keyyong Hong) announced that it has launched a new R&D project aimed at developing the core technologies for small modular reactor (SMR)-powered ships and floating SMR power generation platforms by 2028.□ SMRs, a net-zero energy source, are drawing attention in the international community as a clean energy source to realize net-zero and solve energy problems, with renewable energy sources. It is expected to be applied in various fields such as power generation, hydrogen production, district heating, and freshwater production.□ SMRs are small-sized reactors with a power generation capacity of 300 MWe or less. They are designed to allow the key components to be manufactured in factories in modular form and assembled on site. Compared to the existing large-scale nuclear power plants, SMRs allow reduced construction periods and costs. They also may have high economic feasibility and reduce the radiation emergency planning areas, because a storage tank does not have to be installed, as in hydrogen production.□ In the fields of shipping and shipbuilding, the applicability of SMRs as the main power source for ships is increasing. KRISO is developing a high-speed Neo-panamax class container ship equipped with SMR. * Neo-panamax class: The maximum size capable of passing through the Panama Canal, which was expanded to a width of 40 m and opened in June 2016 (container ships up to 15,000 TEU)□ In addition, KRISO will develop an floating SMR power generation platform, a nuclear power plant on the sea, so that power generation may be carried out stably in the marine environment, including consideration of many variables, and prepare a commercialization model to supply power to islands in need of more electricity, thereby creating opportunities for commercializing SMRs on the sea.□ KRISO expects that, in the future, electricity generated from the SMR power generation platform can be used as an energy source for producing eco-friendly alternative fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia.□ Keyyong Hong, the President of KRISO, said, “Last year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) set the goal of marine net-zero by 2050, and therefore we need a quick response in the fields of shipping and shipbuilding. Considering this need, SMR-powered ships will be an innovative strategy to achieve marine decarbonization.” He added, “Through the R&D program on SMR-powered ships and offshore floating SMR power plants, we will endeavor to lead the future eco-friendly maritime technologies and form the basis for creating new industries.”

KRISO Signed an MOU with KHNP for Commercialization of Marine Energy Technologies▶KRISO and KHNP signed MOU for commercialization of marine energy technologies and clean power generation on February 21, 2024.□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) held each other’s hands to develop clean power generation technologies using marine energy. □ KRISO and KHNP entered into a memorandum of understanding(MOU) in Daejeon on the 21st, to mutually cooperate to demonstrate and commercialize technologies for producing and supplying marine energy and marine green hydrogen. □ Under the MOU, they will collaborate to develop commercialized technologies in the fields of production and transportation of marine green hydrogen; demonstrate clean power plants using marine energy and discover relevant business models and exchange carbon negative technologies using marine energy. □ So far, KRISO has continuously carried out R&D on power generation technologies using marine energy sources including wave power, seawater temperature difference, and offshore wind power. In addition, KRISO has produced excellent accomplishments in the field of marine energy, for example by developing an offshore platform for producing hydrogen and ammonia using electric power produced from eco-friendly energy sources. □ Two parties plan to cooperate in demonstrating marine energy power generation platforms based on wave power and offshore wind power on KRISO’s wave energy test site. Furthermore, the production and supply business model for marine green hydrogen will be made. Wave Energy Test Site (KRISO)□ KRISO is looking forward to creating synergic effects through cooperation with KHNP, Korea's largest power generation company, increasing the competitiveness of Korea's marine renewable energy technology and discovering new research areas such as temperature difference power generation using heated wastewater from power plants. □ Sang-Jo Yoon, the executive vice president of KHNP, said, “We will continuously cooperate with KRISO so that various non-carbon energy sources such as marine energy may increase in harmony with existing power plants based on nuclear power, hydrogen, and renewable energy sources.” □ Kim Jin, the vice president of KRISO, said “Encountering the carbon-neutral era, many countries around world are reducing the use of fossil fuels and focusing on renewable energy. KRISO will closely cooperate with KHNP to take the lead in the clean energy conversion and hydrogen economy of Korea.”

KRISO, leading the international standards of the maritime PNT service▶ Positioning augmentation message type developed by KRISO was registered as RTCM international standard▶ Centimeter-level positioning augmentation service will be provided in Korea’s territorial waters from 2025□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO, President Keyyong Hong) announced on January 17, 2024 that it had developed a broadcasting message type for an advanced high-accuracy maritime positioning service to provide accurate position on the sea and successfully registered it as an international standard with the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM).□ The RTCM, an international organization for official technical standards for maritime navigation and positioning, defines a series of message types and standards for transmission of position correction data. Generally, ships and airplanes obtain accurate position using the GPS and the RTCM correction information. Maritime international organizations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) have also adopted the data transmission standards of the RTCM.□ The RTCM standards define the augmentation service message types containing the error corrections, satellite status information, and base station information to improve the positioning accuracy of various navigation satellite systems such as GPS. When the augmentation messages are transmitted, the identification information of the service providers, including the country and institution, is provided.< Message types exclusively allocated by RTCM> □ In collaboration with the Maritime PNT Research Office, KRISO is developing a high-accuracy maritime positioning service technology to reduce the positioning error of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) to less than 10 cm. In addition, KRISO has developed a message type for positioning augmentation information broadcasting.< Conceptual diagram of the graound-based centimeter-level maritime high-accuracy positioning service >□ As the positioning augmentation message type has been registered as an international standard, the message type provides a basis for broadcasting centimeter-level maritime high-accuracy positioning service information to all ships sailing in the territorial waters of Korea. □ Since Korea has complicated shorelines and many islands, it is critical to provide high-accuracy positioning service for the safe sailing of future ships including autonomous navigation ships. Accurate position is also essential at harbors where ships often come in and go out.□ When the positioning service is provided at a centimeter-level accuracy in the message type developed by Korea, the national competitiveness will be increased in not only maritime affairs such as pilotage support, hydrographical survey, maritime construction, and dredging but also maritime mobility technologies including autonomous navigation ships. In addition, the service will significantly contribute to the development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies such as smart harbors and marine drones.□ The centimeter-level high-accuracy positioning service will be provided from 2025 through the high-speed maritime wireless communication network (LTE-M).□ Keyyong Hong, the President of KRISO, said, “With the Maritime PNT Research Office, KRISO will continue to take efforts to develop positioning service technologies in pursuit of maritime safety, such as the Korean Positioning System (KPS), and take the initiatives in preparing the international standards.”

Principal Researcher Dongkon Lee Won 'KRISO Scientist' Award▶ Conducted Korean’s first research on safe design of ships, including damage, fire safety, and human life escape□ Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO, President Keyyong Hong) announced that Principal Researcher Dongkon Lee won the KRISO Scientist Award. □ The KRISO Scientist Award is granted to a person who has greatly contributed to the development of KRISO by raising the status of the research institute and the science and technology community by means of excellent accomplishments. □ Principal Researcher Dongkon Lee, who joined KRISO in 1983, is a veteran researcher who has taken the lead in the field of naval vessel design and ship safety design for about 40 years. □ Principal Researcher Dongkon Lee has taken the initiative in strengthening Korea’s naval defense capacity by performing conceptual design of novel naval vessels such as naval training ships, fast boats, and next-generation destroyers and developing systems that can increase safety of naval vessels in the event of fire. □ Furthermore, he developed Korea’s first ‘on-board decision support system in response to fire and damage accident,’ leading research on the securing of ship safety and the technology for coping with ship damage. This technology is a decision support system for performing real-time prediction of ship accident situations and their impacts and coping with the accidents effectively. The technology was selected as one of the New Maritime and Fishery Technologies of the year 2021. □ Until recently, Lee has actively carried out innovative R&D work, including the development of technologies for reliability assessment of autonomous navigation systems and accident counteractions. □ In addition, he has made efforts in international technical activities. For example, he developed a flooding simulation technology and relevant damage scenarios for determining safety of damaged ships and provided them to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), as well as proposing the need for accident counteraction technologies to the Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (MASS Code), thereby playing an essential role for Korea to take the lead in the development of the MASS Code. □ Receiving the KRISO Scientist Award at the 2024 Kick-Off Meeting of KRISO, Principal Researcher Dongkon Lee said, “I am really happy to win the honorable ‘KRISO Scientist’ Award, to which I have devoted myself throughout my lifetime.” He also expressed his feelings, saying “I am grateful to my colleagues who have worked together with me, and as a marine engineer, I would like to continue to make further contributions to KRISO as well as to the development of Korea’s shipbuilding industry.”< Dongkon Lee(right) won the ‘KRISO Scientist’ Award >

KRISO introduced Korea’s eco-friendly ship technology in the international conference▶ Focusing on eco-friendly alternative fuel offshore test-bed ship and technology for land-based evaluation of 30 MW electricity-hybrid propulsion system □ Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO, President Key Yong Hong) has begun to lay the groundwork for international cooperation to bring forward the era of eco-friendly ships. □ During the summit conference of the 28th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) of Parties (COP28), KRISO held a joint conference (Toward Green Shipping by 2050) with the US at the Korea Hall of the Dubai Expo City and presented ‘R&D Status of Korea for Green Shipping Corridor,’ which attracted much attention from the international community. □ The UNFCCC COP is an international conference where more than 200 countries gather each year to discuss measures for responding to climate change and commit to reduction of carbon emissions or the like. At COP28, held this year, Korea and the US issued a joint statement regarding green shipping seaways, officially declaring plans for conducting a pilot demonstration project for utilizing low-carbon and carbon-free fuels, carbon reduction technologies, and energy-saving technologies. □ The conference was organized by Korea and the US to introduce plans for realizing 2050 Marine Net Zero and establishing and implementing green shipping courses, thereby promoting international cooperation. □ Hee Jin Kang, the director of the Alternative Fuels and Power System Research Center, attended the conference as one of the delegates of Korea and presented the preparation status for the establishment of the eco-friendly alternative fuel supply chain and the application of net-zero and carbon reduction technologies to ships, which should be considered in realizing 2050 Net Zero. □ In particular, an eco-friendly alternative fuel test-bed ship and technology for land-based evaluation of a 30 MW electricity-hybrid propulsion system developed by KRISO attracted much attention and positive responses from the participants. □ The eco-friendly alternative fuel test-bed ship, presented that day, is an offshore test-bed in which engines propelled by various eco-friendly fuels such as electric power, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol may be demonstrated in a single ship. When the implementation of the 2050 Marine Net Zero and the establishment of Korea-US Green Shipping Corridor are officially announced, it is expected that the test-bed ship can play an important role in performing offshore demonstration of eco-friendly fuel propulsion technologies and obtaining a good track record. □ In addition, technology for land-based evaluation of the 30 MW electricity-hybrid propulsion system allows land-based evaluation of eco-friendly ship fuels and propulsion systems, as well as providing a demonstration of carbon-free fuel propulsion technologies before their full-scale application to ships. To this end, KRISO is currently constructing a 30 MW land-based test site (LBTS) in Mokpo. The world’s largest LBTS will allow for electrification tests of large ships, so that the application of electric propulsion systems to large merchant ships, such as container ships in international corridors, may be brought forward. □ Hee Jin Kang, the director, said, “We will thoroughly prepare the establishment of the land-based and offshore test-bed for the development of alternative fuel technologies for eco-friendly ships. We will do our best in R&D work and domestic and international cooperative activities.”

KRISO Takes the Lead in Digital Transformation of Shipbuilding and Marine Industry ▶ KRISO developed a structural digital twin platform for shipbuilding and marine industry▶ A basin model test method based on the structural digital twin platform was developed for floating offshore structures. □ The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO, President Keyyong Hong) developed a ‘ship and offshore structure digital twin platform’ for predicting safety of ships and offshore plant structures in a virtual space. ㅇ The concept of the digital twin is receiving attention in various industries as a technology for verifying safety through simulation under various conditions by equally implementing and linking real-world machines, equipment, and objects in a virtual space. □ Using this platform developed by KRISO, a model reflecting the detailed structure of an actual ship or offshore structure can be implemented in a virtual digital space to perform interactive real-time evaluation of the conditions of the structure in various marine environments and to predict the changes of the conditions in 10 to 20 years in consideration of the deformation, aging, corrosion, and damage, thereby estimating the remaining service life. □ Previously, the application of digital twins was difficult because a huge amount of time was required to analyze large amounts of data to evaluate the structural safety of ships and offshore plants under various marine environmental conditions. However, KRISO has developed a method for implementing the reduction of order, which reflects the physically predicted deformations or various numerical analysis algorithms, and thus drastically decreases the time required for the analysis, enabling the implementation of structural digital twins for ships and offshore plants. □ The excellence of this technology was verified in comparison with model test results obtained from an ocean engineering basin based on a multi-linked floating structures, developed by KRISO.K-FPSO structural model and structural safety assessment procedures independently developed by KRISO □ When the technology is applied to actual ships or offshore plants, the structural integrity can be quickly confirmed. This allows for the prediction and prevention of accidents caused by cracks and damage of structures, such as the past sinking of the MOL Comfort and the MSC Napoli container ships. Furthermore, it is anticipated that the technology can significantly reduce the costs and time required for the management and maintenance of actual structures. □ Principal Researcher, Kangsu Lee said, “We will further upgrade the structural digital twin platform by using the FPSO structural model (K-FPSO), which was independently developed by KRISO.”  ㅇ K-FPSO, an FPSO structural model developed according to the regulations of the international classification societies, acquired AIP certification from the Korean Register, as its performance for structural analysis and structural safety evaluation was recognized.    * FPSO (Floating Production Storage and Off-loading): A floating type facility for producing, storing, and off-loading oil. FPSOs are offshore complex structures for extracting crude oil from the seabed in particular offshore regions, producing and storing refined products, and transporting them to other ships. □ For the commercialization of the source technology of the structural digital twin, KRISO is currently conducting technological exchanges with major companies in Korea and other countries. Through continuous cooperation, KRISO will make efforts to apply the platform to ships or offshore plants. □ Keyyong Hong, the President of KRISO, said, “The digital twin technology for ships or offshore structures will gain more applications in the future.” He added, “KRISO will do its best to take the lead in the digital transformation of the shipbuilding and marine industry of Korea by advancing digital twin technology and establishing a digital twin center for conducting joint research with universities and companies.”

KRISO, spurring development of eco-friendly ships ▶ KRISO has developed three types of standard vessels for application of eco-friendly technologies and acquired AIP from Korean Register (KR).□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO, President Keyyong Hong) is spurring the development of eco-friendly small and medium vessels. KRISO has made significant achievements such that the three types of vessels developed by applying the LNG fueled vessel technologies of the Eco-Friendly Vessel Design Technology Project Group (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Project Group’) acquired Approval in Principle (AIP) from the Korean Register(KR).□ As global regulations on the gas emissions from ships are recently being strengthened, efforts are actively being made in the shipbuilding industry to convert the old conventional bunker oil-fueled vessels to eco-friendly ones. □ However, compared to large shipbuilding companies, the development of eco-friendly vessel technology by small and medium shipbuilding companies is significantly inferior because they have already gone through troubles both inside and outside, such as the breakaway of human technology resources due to past reconstructing as well as reduction of the number of received orders and financial difficulties due to the global economic recession and competition from other companies. □ Therefore, the KRISO Project Group has conducted a demand survey with small and medium shipbuilding companies, determined the types of vessels requiring technical support, and taken the initiative in developing technologies for small and medium standard vessels suitable for small and medium shipbuilding companies in order to enter the market of eco-friendly ships and secure business competitiveness. □ The three vessels developed by the Project Group are a △2,700 TEU Feeder container ship, △ 6,000 TEU bulk carrier, and △7,000 CBM* liquefied carbon dioxide cargo vessel. These are all vessels that can be easily applied by small and medium shipbuilding and design companies, which have difficulties in developing eco-friendly vessel technologies due to the lack of human R&D resources compared to large companies. *CBM (Cubic Meter); A volume of 1m×1m×1m □ Particularly, the newly developed vessels were designed by market analysis to determine competitive specifications and allow the vessels to satisfy international standards. In addition, HAZID was conducted to analyze potential hazard factors between the fuel tank and fuel supply systems and reflect them in the design by performing a process analysis of the systems, thereby securing safety and reliability. Furthermore, the vessels were developed through verification including a related model test. □ In December, the KRISO Project Group will disseminate the newly developed vessels to the companies selected from public invitation, which will apply these designs. □ Meanwhile, since its establishment in 2022, the KRISO Project Group has continuously and actively carried out various supporting activities for small and medium shipbuilding companies by connecting advanced technologies to the development of eco-friendly vessels, with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Busan Metropolitan Government. □ Keyyong Hong, the President of KRISO, said, “We hope that the development of new standard vessels can be a great help to the small and medium shipbuilding companies.” He added, “KRISO will never spare continuous technical support to the small and medium shipbuilding companies, which still have insufficient human resources and R&D environments for the development of eco-friendly vessels, compared to large companies.”

KRISO achieved ABS’ Approval for it’s offshore ammonia production platform□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (President Key Yong Hong, KRISO) developed Korea’s first offshore platform for ammonia production and has achieved the Approval in Principle (AIP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). □ The offshore platform for ammonia production developed by KRISO is a platform for producing hydrogen and nitrogen by using electric power generated from offshore renewable energy sources such as offshore wind power, and synthesizing them to cleanly produce ammonia on the sea without carbon emission.Conceptual diagram of the offshore hydrogen production platform(left) and ammonia production platform(right)□ Since ammonia easily corrodes metals and exhibits toxicity, it is more important than anything else to secure design safety to prevent risks of leakage or the like in the production process. The AIP has officially certified the safety and technical validity of the offshore platform for ammonia production developed by KRISO.□ This platform allows for stable production of ammonia in large amounts because the platform is stably provided with green hydrogen from an offshore platform for hydrogen production that has already been developed by the KRISO to synthesize ammonia using nitrogen separated from the air. KRISO already acquired AIP from the ABS for the offshore platform for hydrogen production in July.□ In particular, according to the ‘Net Zero Scenario’ of the ‘Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap Report’ published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), ammonia is expected to account for about 45% of total ship fuels by 2050. Accordingly, the need to establish a stable supply chain of eco-friendly fuels is increasing. □ KRISO expects that a large-scale eco-friendly energy production supply chain may be established on the sea without carbon emissions by commercializing renewable energy-based offshore power generation facilities and platforms for producing hydrogen and ammonia.□ Keyyong Hong, President of KRISO, stated: “The hydrogen and ammonia production platform developed by KRISO can produce hydrogen and ammonia without carbon emissions using marine renewable energy. In the future, KRISO will continue to develop sustainable marine energy and eco-friendly ship technologies in order to achieve net zero in the ocean.”

The integrated R-Mode navigation system was developed by KRISO for improving marine safety in Korea▶ Ships are not disturbed during GPS jamming and spoofing.□ A technology allowing for the measurement of ship position without GPS has been developed.□ The Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (President Keyyong Hong, KRISO) announced on September 1, 2023 that the Institute had developed ‘terrestrial integrated navigation system (R-Mode) technology,’ which allows for the measurement of ship position on the sea even during GPS jamming or failure.□ With global digitalization, position information has been so common that it is often used in our daily life and in the industry. In addition, position information is essential for many means of transportation, including aircraft, ships, and automobiles.□ At present, the general way of acquiring position information is by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), in which the position is calculated by measuring the travel time of signals transmitted by satellites; the representative example is GPS. However, GNSS is vulnerable to signal failure, jamming, and hacking.□ To overcome the limitation of GNSS, KRISO developed a new terrestrial integrated navigation system (R-Mode) technology. In this technology, different terrestrial navigation signals are transmitted from three transmitting stations on the ground, rather than from satellites, and the distance is measured based on differences between transmitting time and receiving time of each signal.□ KRISO has promoted the ‘terrestrial integrated navigation system (R-Mode) technology’ development program, supported by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, since 2020. From 2022 to this year, at the Daesan Harbor in Seosan, KRISO has completely demonstrated the key features of the technology, such as broadcasting of actual signals; receiving and processing of navigation signals; real-time generation of navigation data; and status monitoring.□ When the R-Mode technology is applied, ships in operation may be provided with real-time position information even when a GNSS signal error or disconnection occurs. Therefore, the bottleneck phenomenon that may occur in a sea route or watercourse crowded with moving ships can be prevented, and the risk of maritime accidents during night operation can be reduced, increasing safety of vessel navigation.□ Furthermore, this technology allows for the utilization of existing maritime communication infrastructure and frequency bandwidth by employing transmitting stations established on the ground, dramatically reducing initial cost of establishing terrestrial infrastructure.□ The R-Mode technology is expected to be applied to various fields, including future ship and maritime mobility, ship berthing, automatic port cargo handling, and watercourse survey.□ Tae Hyun Fang, a principal researcher of the Ocean and Maritime Digital Technology Research Division, said, “As international organizations such as the International Maritime Organization(IMO) require a navigation system that is capable of supplementing the vulnerabilities of GNSS, we will make positive efforts to make our technology an international standard and achieve technological leadership.”□ Keyyong Hong, the president of the KRISO, said, “The maritime position information will gain more importance when smart vessels such as unmanned ships and autonomous ships begin their full operation.” He added, “The KRISO is participating in the development of the position, navigation, and timing (PNT) information service together with the R-Mode technology. We will continue to commit ourselves to the related research to keep the precious life of the citizens as well as the maritime safety.”