Hanwha Ocean Selects TMC Compressors to Equip Newbuild LNG Carriers

TMC Compressors is supplying marine-based compressed air systems, including controls and service air compressors, to Hanwha Ocean for the construction of 12 new-build LNG carriers. Each carrier, with an LNG storage capacity of 174,000 m³, will be delivered to an undisclosed LNG shipping company.

The company’s compressed air systems are designed specifically for offshore and maritime applications and enable the vessel’s crew to easily perform onboard maintenance while at sea. The compressed air systems for Hanwha Ocean will also feature these ease-of-maintenance capabilities.

“This is a large contract with a shipbuilder that we have collaborated with on hundreds of similar 174,000 m³ vessels over the past few decades,” said Hans Petter Tanum, Director of Sales and Business Development, TMC Compressors. “We look forward to supporting Hanwha Ocean on these 12 vessels, too. It is too expensive for a vessel to go to port or send a technical offshore team when you need to maintain a compressor. That is why we design them with ease-of-maintenance in mind, in addition to energy efficiency.”

Marine compressor unit; image credit: TMC Compressors

In addition to supplying marine compressors for Hanwha Ocean, TMC Compressors won contracts to deliver similar equipment packages for 15 LNG vessels built by Samsung Heavy Industries and 17 LNG carriers under construction at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. TMC Compressors, headquartered in Oslo, Norway, has not revealed the contract’s value.

Hanwha’s LNG Carrier Tech

In 2023, Hanwha Aerospace and Hanwha Ocean partnered to develop and enhance energy storage system (ESS) technology designed to reduce carbon emissions in the ship market. The two companies secured MWh-class ESS technology that can be implemented in large vessels such as LNG carriers and container ships.

Hanwha's ESS technology, using lithium-ion battery, features a container-type packaging that reduces the overall size of the ESS by consolidating the control system and is equipped with an automatic fire extinguishing feature. Applying a hybrid power system that combines a conventional internal combustion engine with the ESS to ships improves fuel efficiency and reduces pollutant emissions.

At this year’s Baker Hughes Annual Meeting, Baker Hughes, Hanwha Power Systems, and Hanwha Ocean signed an agreement to leverage Baker Hughes’ small-size gas turbine technology and Hanwha’s ammonia combustion system. The two companies agreed to create 100% ammonia combustion dual-fuel with natural gas small-size turbines suitable for marine applications, onshore and offshore applications, and electric generation and mechanical drive.

This comes on the heels of Hanwha’s successful proof-of-concept test of its combustor with 100% ammonia as the fuel gas and Baker Hughes’ initial turbine feasibility studies in 2024. The target date to complete the full engine test with ammonia is by the end of 2027, after which the ~16-MW power range turbine will be commercially available for orders.

Hanwha Power Systems

In late November 2024, Hanwha Power Systems Co. and TC Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) waste heat recovery project to leverage the heat stream at a natural gas pipeline compressor station. An unspecified gas turbine OEM will also participate by verifying a combined power generation solution, integrating gas turbines with Hanwha’s sCO₂ system. Hanwha will install its sCO₂ power generation system at a compressor station owned and operated by TC Energy in West Virginia.