U.S. Navy Generals Visit Hanwha Ocean Siheung R&D Campus

The group of generals in charge of the national naval ship project visited Hanwha Ocean Siheung R&D Campus located in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do on the 27th. In the first row of the photo, from the third person on the left, are Vice President Jeong Seung-gyun, Head of the Special Ship Overseas Business Division; Vice President Son Young-chang, Head of the Product Strategy Technology Institute; Rear Admiral William Green of the U.S. Navy NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command); President Kim Hee-chul of Hanwha Ocean; Rear Admiral Thomas Anderson; Brigadier General Shin Hyun-seung, Head of the Ship Project Division at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration; and President Eo Seong-cheol, Head of the Special Ship Business Division, posing for a commemorative photo. Photo by Hanwha Ocean

The U.S. Navy visited Hanwha Ocean’s growth engine hub, the Siheung R&D Campus in Gyeonggi Province, to directly verify its cutting-edge technological capabilities. Having recently secured a contract for the U.S. ship MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) project, Hanwha Ocean is strengthening its rapport to expand potential areas of cooperation with the U.S. Navy.

On the 27th, Hanwha Ocean announced on the 29th that President Kim Hee-cheol and Special Ship Business Division Head Uh Seong-cheol met with U.S. Navy NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command) Admirals Thomas Anderson and William Green, who are responsible for U.S. naval ship projects, along with officials from the U.S. Embassy in Korea and Shin Hyun-seung, Head of the Ship Business Division at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, at the Siheung R&D Campus in Gyeonggi Province to exchange opinions on mutual cooperation.

Opened in 2018, the Siheung R&D Campus is a core base where Hanwha Ocean’s proprietary technologies have been accumulated. It houses some of the nation’s top facilities, including the largest communal towing tank, towing tank, and an acoustic tank, which is considered the pinnacle of defense technology.

On this day, the U.S. Navy had the opportunity to see firsthand the world-class R&D facilities at the Siheung R&D Campus, including the eco-friendly fuel Land Based Test Site (LBTS), communal towing tank, towing tank, and model production room. Hanwha Ocean’s eco-friendly fuel LBTS is a facility for testing decarbonization technologies such as commercial-grade fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, new-concept batteries, flywheel generators, and ammonia propulsion.

Additionally, the submarine lithium-ion energy storage system (ESS) developed by Hanwha Aerospace attracted significant interest from the U.S. Navy. When the ESS and hydrogen fuel cell-based Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) system are installed together on a submarine, it enables covert underwater operations for up to three weeks.

The U.S. Navy, after touring the site, praised Hanwha Ocean’s unparalleled shipbuilding technology under the banner of “Global Ocean Solution Provider.” Admiral Thomas Anderson said, “Thank you for explaining Hanwha Ocean’s research and development (R&D) capabilities. Hanwha Ocean’s capabilities and investments are very impressive, and we look forward to opportunities for mutual benefit in the shipbuilding R&D field between Korea and the U.S. in the future.”

President Kim Hee-cheol stated, “Today, the U.S. Navy visited Hanwha Ocean in person and attentively listened to explanations of the latest technologies we possess and are developing. We hope this visit to the Siheung R&D Center will serve as a bridge leading not only to the U.S. Navy’s MRO projects but also to technical exchanges necessary for future shipbuilding.”