South Korea invests $32.3M on test bed for carbon-neutral ships

South Korea announced that it would spend 36.4 billion won ($32.3 million) on a new test bed to accelerate the construction of carbon-neutral ships.

According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, a new test center will be established in Mokpo, 410 kilometers south of Seoul, where companies and institutions will demonstrate their newly developed technologies.

By 2025, the government will build a new ship to test different engines, including those powered by electric or hydrogen, according to the programme.

Since the ship’s engines can be substituted, the expense of constructing separate ships for different models can be greatly reduced.

The plan, according to the ministry, would help South Korea’s efforts to become carbon-neutral by 2050 and accelerate the construction of environmentally friendly ships.

Last year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) issued stricter environmental standards for the maritime industry, encouraging ships to use cleaner fuels including low-sulfur fuel oil.