YANGSAN — The city of Yangsan in South Gyeongsang Province is opening a testing and evaluation hub for hybrid propulsion technology used in eco-friendly ships. The land-based verification center, built at a total cost of 31.1 billion won ($22.4 million), opens on the 30th of this month at the Gasan General Industrial Complex.
Yangsan and the Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI) said on the 14th that they will hold an opening ceremony for the Land-Based Verification Center for Eco-Friendly Ship Hybrid Propulsion on the 30th and begin full operation of facilities for testing, evaluating and verifying combined internal combustion and electric propulsion systems for vessels.
The center is equipped to test the performance of core components and systems for hybrid propulsion used in mid- to large-sized vessels and to verify the technology on land. It supports companies in verifying and improving technologies and products on land before applying them to actual ships.
The center offers a support system covering testing, evaluation and technical assistance from the technology development stage onward. The goal is to allow companies in the field to verify product performance and pursue commercialization within the region.
KOMERI will run the center. Drawing on its capabilities in research and development, engineering and testing and certification, it will provide technical support to companies, carry out national research projects and support testing, evaluation and certification.
The project, selected in a Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy competition in June 2022, is titled the Land-Based Verification Infrastructure Project for Hybrid Propulsion Systems for Mid- to Large-Sized Vessels. Of the total 31.1 billion won, 9 billion won came from the central government, 1.5 billion won from the province and 20.6 billion won from the city. The facility, with a total floor area of 2,949 square meters, was built on a 7,377-square-meter site at the Gasan General Industrial Complex in Dongmyeon.
With the opening, Yangsan plans to support technology development and verification by companies working on eco-friendly ships and to attract new businesses to the area. The city intends to expand links not only with shipbuilding and marine equipment but also with related industries such as machinery, electrical and electronics, and materials, to strengthen the technological competitiveness and commercialization capacity of local industry.
"The opening of the Land-Based Verification Center for Eco-Friendly Ship Hybrid Propulsion is significant in that it establishes a foundation for verifying related technologies in a land-based environment and supporting companies' technology development," a Yangsan city official said. "We will work with KOMERI and provide active support so that the center can establish itself as a verification hub leading Yangsan's future industries."
