Recently, HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding subsidiaries HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Mipo, and HD Hyundai Samho announced that they have selected Germany’s Siemens Digital Industries Software (DISW) and the UK-based industrial design software producer AVEVA as the first preferred bidders (priority negotiators) for the construction of an integrated design-manufacturing platform. They have also signed a business agreement (MOU) with these two world-class digital engineering companies for the development of this platform.
It is reported that HD Hyundai Group is accelerating the promotion of a project to build a digital automation production system for the integrated management of the entire process from ship design to manufacturing, which is the first of its kind in the Korean shipbuilding industry.
This project plans to achieve comprehensive management of core shipbuilding systems such as CAD (Computer-Aided Design) for 3D ship models, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), and Digital Manufacturing (DM) on a single platform, aiming for productivity innovation.
To achieve the goal of building a “smart autonomous shipyard” by 2030, HD Hyundai Group has been continuously engaging in close technical cooperation with world-class digital engineering companies in recent years.
In April 2022, HD Hyundai Samho and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed a Joint Development Project (JDP) agreement with Siemens for a next-generation Computer-Aided Design (CAD) platform. Through this project, HD Hyundai Samho will develop a next-generation shipbuilding-specific CAD to secure the “Super Gap” technological capability for building future digital shipyards.
In October 2023, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Mipo, and HD Hyundai Samho signed a “Joint Development Project (JDP) Agreement for an Integrated Design-Manufacturing Innovation Platform” with Siemens to collaboratively build a digital automation production system where all data from ship design to manufacturing is managed on a shared platform, reducing inefficiencies caused by lack of data interoperability between processes.
In January 2024, HD Hyundai Group, along with Finnish maritime software supplier NAPA and CADMATIC, announced that they will collaborate to develop innovative ship design and information management solutions, integrating Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems.
In July 2024, HD Hyundai Group and Siemens Digital Industries Software (DISW) held a high-level Steering Committee Meeting to exchange updates on the construction status of digital manufacturing and decided to further strengthen cooperation. Both parties reviewed the status of joint development projects such as HD Hyundai Mipo’s “Injection Molding Robot Simulation” and “Panel Welding Production Optimization,” as well as HD Hyundai Samho’s “Siemens Marine Platform” and “Industrial Teamcenter X-based Basic Design Data System,” and exchanged opinions on future strategies.
In October 2024, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, and HD Hyundai Mipo signed a business agreement (MOU) with French software giant Dassault Systèmes S.A. to build an integrated shipbuilding design-manufacturing platform based on Virtual Twin technology.
After hearing proposals for the integrated design-manufacturing platform from Siemens Digital Industries Software, AVEVA, Dassault Systèmes, NAPA, and CADMATIC in May of this year, HD Hyundai Group evaluated each company’s technical capabilities and project feasibility, ultimately deciding to select Siemens and AVEVA as the first preferred bidders.
Among these, Siemens’ PLM solution Teamcenter, as the most widely used PLM system globally, is the industry’s first to transform a single software application into a truly integrated PLM solution built on an SOA basis, spanning disciplines, project phases, and plans. It provides manufacturing enterprises with platform scalability, application richness, and configurability. Through Teamcenter, design and production data can be organically integrated, and Siemens’ proven technological strength in the mechanical industry can be extended and applied to the shipbuilding sector.
AVEVA received positive evaluation for the smooth transition potential to a next-generation system, based on the stability of the ship and offshore engineering-specific design software “AVEVA Marine,” which is already in use by HD Hyundai Group’s shipbuilding subsidiaries.
HD Hyundai Group plans to conduct detailed pilot projects on the solutions provided by these two companies, validating all design domains and empirically testing production-related scenarios.
Based on this, HD Hyundai Group plans to select and finalize one ultimate solution by the end of this year, officially commence development of the integrated design-manufacturing platform starting next year, and complete its construction by 2028.
An official from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries stated, “The integrated design-manufacturing platform will become the core infrastructure of the smart shipyard. Through cooperation with global technology companies, we will accelerate the digital transformation of the shipbuilding industry and secure future competitiveness.
