Collaboration Between Lloyd’s Register and HD Hyundai MIPO Dockyard to Enhance Digital Manufacturing of Type C

Lloyd’s Register (LR) and HD Hyundai MIPO Dockyard (HMD) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on enhancing digital manufacturing for Type C tanks.

The MoU outlines a shared commitment to develop and validate a streamlined, digitally-enabled production process for Type C tanks, which are anticipated to experience increased demand due to their capability to store pressurized and cryogenic cargoes, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO₂).

The initiative aims to create a transparent quality assurance framework for the production of Type C tanks intended for LNG and LCO₂ storage. HMD will incorporate monitoring and digital manufacturing technologies, including digital twin technology and smart quality assurance systems, into its production processes. LR will offer technical support and independently verify the implementation and use of these technologies.

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The project is scheduled to take place from May 2025 to July 2026, with LR collaborating with HMD’s engineering and production teams to validate the application of new digital workflows in a future-ready smart factory setting. The goal is to reduce production time and variability while enhancing confidence in the consistency and safety of tank construction.

Sung-Gu Park, President of Lloyd’s Register for North East Asia, stated:

“This initiative is set to provide a smart, transparent quality assurance framework for HMD’s future smart factory. By integrating digital tools into the core of Type C tank production, it will improve efficiency, decrease variability, and enhance traceability in the manufacturing of these essential components.”

Hyung Kwan Kim, CEO of HD Hyundai Mipo, remarked: “With advancements in digital manufacturing and automation technologies equipped with monitoring systems, consistent quality assurance and verifiable data-based quality certification have become achievable. This aims to improve quality transparency and establish a shipbuilding production system that shipowners can rely on.”