Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai Engineering said on the 1st that they launched the HMG (Hyundai Motor Group) Construction Technology Research Institute, which integrates their research and development (R&D) organizations.
The HMG Construction Technology Research Institute is an integrated organization combining the Hyundai Engineering & Construction Technology Research Institute and the Hyundai Engineering Future Technology Promotion Unit. The two companies said they integrated research staff, technology asset, and business execution experience to respond to the energy transition and the expansion of smart construction.
The institute will operate as a unit reporting directly to both companies' chief executive officers (CEOs) and was formed with a staff of about 200. The inaugural director will be Kim Jae-young, head of the Hyundai Engineering & Construction Technology Research Institute and a former vice president for research at Seoul National University.
The research areas consist of four fields: ▲ energy ▲ future housing ▲ smart construction ▲ infrastructure.
In the energy field, the institute will study Small Modular Reactor (SMR), hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), offshore wind, and biogas. The future housing field will focus on new residential products and new construction methods, as well as developing technologies that utilize residential data.
In the smart construction field, the institute will study technologies that improve safety and quality using artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotics, while the infrastructure field will handle technology development related to underground space and mobility.
The two companies are also participating in Hyundai Motor Group's hydrogen ecosystem build-out project. In Jeju, they are jointly promoting the development and demonstration of a 5-megawatt plant-type polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis system.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction last year completed a water electrolysis-based hydrogen production base in Buan, North Jeolla Province, and Hyundai Engineering is building a hydrogen production base of the same capacity in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province.
Alongside this, they plan to jointly promote research and development in inter-floor noise reduction technology, precast concrete (PC), construction automation, and Robotics.
A representative of the HMG Construction Technology Research Institute said, "This integration is to consolidate the research and development capabilities of Hyundai Motor Group's construction institutional sector," adding, "We plan to expand our technology development and demonstration capabilities and use them to secure competitiveness in future businesses."