Shipbuilding's Next Frontier Is 'FDC': HD KSOE Teams With Schneider Electric on Tech

HD Hyundai has entered the race to develop core technologies for "data centers at sea," an emerging growth area for the shipbuilding industry.

HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (009540), the intermediate holding company for HD Hyundai's shipbuilding division, signed a memorandum of understanding with Schneider Electric, a global leader in data center infrastructure solutions, to jointly develop floating data center infrastructure technology, the company said Wednesday.

The signing ceremony was held the previous day at HD Hyundai's Global R&D Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, attended by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering CEO Kim Hyung-kwan and Schneider Electric Korea CEO Kwon Ji-woong, among others.

Called data centers at sea, floating data centers (FDCs) are next-generation data centers that operate servers on floating structures at sea. They are considered the most ideal alternative to solve the difficulty of securing land and the enormous server cooling costs faced by existing land-based data centers.

Schneider Electric, in particular, is a global leader in data center power, cooling, and energy management. Based on its experience in building large-scale data centers and AI infrastructure, it provides next-generation digital infrastructure solutions.

Under the agreement, the two companies plan to expand cooperation in core data center infrastructure technology and engineering to optimize it for marine environments, with the goal of building integrated data center infrastructure based on offshore platforms.

To this end, the two companies plan to review the infrastructure and technical requirements for implementing FDCs and jointly derive the optimal infrastructure solutions suited to offshore platform environments. They aim to secure integrated design capabilities that combine data center power and cooling infrastructure with offshore platform technology.

The two companies also agreed to regularly share information on the latest technology trends and engineering issues related to FDCs, while identifying further opportunities for joint research and development to expand their partnership.

"HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering is accelerating the development of offshore data center technology based on the floating structure design and construction capabilities we have accumulated in the shipbuilding and offshore fields," Kim said. "Through this collaboration between the two companies, we will advance the core technologies that can stably implement large-scale, high-density computing infrastructure at sea."

"As AI infrastructure expands, the power efficiency and sustainability of data centers are emerging as important challenges," Kwon said. "By combining Schneider Electric's global data center technology capabilities with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering's shipbuilding and offshore engineering know-how, we will create a new standard for next-generation floating data centers."