HD KSOE announced on March 28 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Infineon Technologies to jointly develop ship electrification technology at the Global R&D Center of HD Hyundai’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Korea, according to BusinessKorea.
Electrically powered ships are propelled by the output of electric motors instead of engines. In order to stably control their output, a propulsion drive is installed. Power semiconductors are responsible for power conversions and drive control. They are key components that determine the drive’s performance and reliability.
According to the MOU, Infineon will support HD KSOE in the development of power semiconductor technology for marine propulsion drives. The two companies will also jointly develop power semiconductors for propulsion drives and exchange technologies for ship electrification.
HD KSOE and HD HHI recently launched a joint development project with the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) to localize propulsion drives that Korean shipbuilders currently rely on foreign companies for. The drive is based on a modular multilevel converter (MMC) power circuit and is specialized for high-capacity, high-voltage systems.