Visitors crowd HD Hyundai's exhibition booth at CES 2023 in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Nevada, Thursday (local time). Courtesy of HD Hyundai

By Park Jae-hyuk

LAS VEGAS ― A replica of HD Hyundai's streamlined futuristic ship unfolded its three automatic wing sails at the shipbuilding group's 595-square-meter exhibition booth for the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Thursday (local time).

The mock-up displayed in the Ocean Mobility zone looks more like a smart device than a boat.

In front of the futuristic ship are two robot arms holding screens that show the company's willingness to build safer and more economical ships.

"The futuristic ship will be commercialized globally by 2030," an HD Hyundai official told reporters during a press tour of the exhibition booth. "Through highly efficient, eco-friendly technologies applied to the futuristic ship, we aim to reduce fuel consumption by 20 to 30 percent."

HD Hyundai also said it has collaborated with leading global companies to build the futuristic ship more systematically by utilizing their digital solutions.

A replica of HD Hyundai's futuristic ship unfolds its three wing sails at the company's exhibition booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada, Thursday (local time). Korea Times photo by Park Jae-hyuk

On the opposite side of the futuristic ship is a huge screen installed on a wall in the Ocean Life & OceanWise zone. Visitors to the zone are able to learn about self-navigating technologies that have been applied to NeuBoat, which was developed by Avikus, an HD Hyundai subsidiary specializing in autonomous ships.

"Avikus will allow more people to enjoy maritime leisure through its self-navigating technologies," the HD Hyundai official said.

The finale of the exhibition booth is the Ocean Energy zone, which showcases HD Hyundai's technologies to cope with the energy crisis.

"Using small modular reactors and solid oxide fuel cell technology we have studied for our future ships, we will create marine energy ecosystems," the HD Hyundai official said. "Through strategic collaboration with TerraPower, GE, Fraunhofer and other leading global companies in various fields, we will enrich people's lives."

With the three zones symbolizing HD Hyundai's four key goals for the "Ocean Transformation" vision, the company seeks to let participants in the world's most influential tech show know its ambitious plans to solve environmental and energy crises by maximizing the ocean's potential.