Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Thursday that it and its unit Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. have won approval for the design of a commercial hydrogen carrier for the first time in the world.

The approval in principle for the design was awarded by KR, South Korea's ship quality assurance and risk management company, and the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), the US-based manager of the Liberian Registry, Korea Shipbuilding said.

The approval allows Korea Shipbuilding to seek orders for the 20,000-cubic-meter liquefied hydrogen carrier in the near future.

The liquefied hydrogen carrier was developed through cooperation among Korea Shipbuilding and its unit Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. as well as Hyundai Glovis Co., a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, Korea Shipbuilding said.

The carrier was designed to transport hydrogen after reducing its gas-state volume by 1/800 and then liquefying it under minus 253 C.

"The global hydrogen market is estimated to grow by $2.5 trillion in 2050, taking up 18 percent of the global energy demand," Korea Shipbuilding quoted a report by the Hydrogen Council as saying. (Yonhap)