Hanwha Group will strengthen comprehensive business cooperation with the government of Alberta, Canada, in key industries such as energy, defense, and shipbuilding. To win the Canada Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), valued at 70 trillion won, which Hanwha Ocean is pursuing, the group and its major affiliates will target Canada's local industrial sector.
Hanwha Group said on the 21st (local time) that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the State Governments building in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to discover mutually beneficial investment opportunities and build a long-term cooperative relationship between Hanwha and Alberta. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Alberta Minister of Trade and Economic Development Joseph Schow, Ambassador to Canada Lim Ki-mo, and Hanwha Energy CEO Lee Jae-gyu attended.
Hanwha Group and the Alberta government agreed to jointly explore mid- to long-term investment and the creation of an industrial ecosystem based in Alberta. Major Hanwha Group affiliates, including Hanwha Energy, Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Aerospace, and Hanwha Power, will participate as strategic partners to strengthen cooperation in various areas such as building supply chains in oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, carbon capture and storage (CCS), defense, and shipbuilding.
The core of the MOU is to support the low-carbon energy transition and to strengthen the growth of related industries and supply chain resilience. In the short term, the two sides plan to secure a foundation for cooperation by expanding resource trade, including natural gas, and in the mid- to long term to expand the scope of cooperation to hydrogen- and ammonia-based clean energy projects and carbon management infrastructure.
Alongside this, Hanwha Group will also support the Defense Industry Strategy (DIS) of Canada, which aims to secure autonomous industrial capabilities, enhance long-term maintenance and operational capacity, and build a region-based defense ecosystem. Alberta is growing into a defense manufacturing hub with an investment of about $6.5 million from the federal government.
The MOU is part of an all-out push by Hanwha Group to win CPSP. CPSP is a project to procure up to 12 diesel submarines. Hanwha Ocean and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) are currently competing. Industry watchers expect the final contractor to be selected by the end of June.
In response, on the 14th, Hanwha Ocean CEO Kim Hee-cheul personally visited Halifax, Canada, and met with State Governments officials including Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston to discuss defense and industrial cooperation.
Recently, the Defense Investment Agency (DIA) of Canada gave Hanwha Ocean and TKMS an opportunity to revise their proposals by the 29th. The intent is for each company to present more specific proposals on the economic and industrial impact on Canada if it wins CPSP.