Intelligent Engineering, the UK-based engineering and technology firm, signed a landmark joint venture agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering on Friday.
The purpose of the agreement is to employ the IE-invented “Sandwich Plate System” technology for the first time in mainstream shipbuilding.
SPS technology, which uses a solid polyurethane elastomer core to bind together two steel plates has, since its development in the early 1990s, been found to have significant advantages over stiffened steel.
However, until the agreement was signed between IE and DSME its use had been confined to shiprepair, where IE has carried out repairs and reinstatement at major shiprepair yards in Europe, South America and Asia.
IE chief executive Michael Kennedy said: “We are delighted to be partnering DSME, one of the world’s foremost shipbuilders. SPS is an important new materials technology that has the capability to transform the industries in which it is applied. We have already seen this in shiprepair and we are beginning to see it in civil engineering. Together with DSME we shall now be able to bring the change to shipbuilding.”
DSME has been working with IE for more than twelve months, developing and testing new applications. The first project involved the design and construction of a liftable car deck as used on a pure car carrier. Work will now commence on an extensive programme that includes lightweight car decks, accommodation blocks, tank tops and hatch covers.
Described by Lloyd’s Register as superior in every practical way to conventional stiffened steel, SPS requires 40% less labour, reduces build complexity and costs, and provides a greater life cycle performance.
Mr Kennedy said Lloyd’s Register will be closely involved in the programme and will incorporate the results in an update of the provisional rules for SPS. The new venture will also be supported by BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, which supplies the polyurethane elastomer and has been involved throughout the development of the SPS technology.
The purpose of the agreement is to employ the IE-invented “Sandwich Plate System” technology for the first time in mainstream shipbuilding.
SPS technology, which uses a solid polyurethane elastomer core to bind together two steel plates has, since its development in the early 1990s, been found to have significant advantages over stiffened steel.
However, until the agreement was signed between IE and DSME its use had been confined to shiprepair, where IE has carried out repairs and reinstatement at major shiprepair yards in Europe, South America and Asia.
IE chief executive Michael Kennedy said: “We are delighted to be partnering DSME, one of the world’s foremost shipbuilders. SPS is an important new materials technology that has the capability to transform the industries in which it is applied. We have already seen this in shiprepair and we are beginning to see it in civil engineering. Together with DSME we shall now be able to bring the change to shipbuilding.”
DSME has been working with IE for more than twelve months, developing and testing new applications. The first project involved the design and construction of a liftable car deck as used on a pure car carrier. Work will now commence on an extensive programme that includes lightweight car decks, accommodation blocks, tank tops and hatch covers.
Described by Lloyd’s Register as superior in every practical way to conventional stiffened steel, SPS requires 40% less labour, reduces build complexity and costs, and provides a greater life cycle performance.
Mr Kennedy said Lloyd’s Register will be closely involved in the programme and will incorporate the results in an update of the provisional rules for SPS. The new venture will also be supported by BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, which supplies the polyurethane elastomer and has been involved throughout the development of the SPS technology.