ABS, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Siemens have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop digital twin technology that predicts ammonia dispersion within seconds of a hypothetical leak — before a single steel plate is cut.

Announced at Gastech 2026, the agreement targets one of the hardest commercial questions hanging over ammonia-fueled tonnage: how to prove that a toxic fuel leak can be contained and modeled early enough to avoid costly redesigns and classification bottlenecks later in the build.

The technical core is a combination of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with digital twin modeling. Together, the partners aim to rapidly simulate how ammonia would disperse across a vessel under a wide range of leakage and accident scenarios, moving that safety work from the commissioning phase to the earliest stages of design.

Who does what?

The division of labor under the MOU is sharply defined:

• HD KSOE develops ammonia safety systems and leads the associated experimental research.
• Siemens supplies simulation analysis and digital twin technology through its Digital Industries Software arm.
• ABS contributes a safety assessment methodology built around digital twins, effectively shaping how the results feed into class approval.

That last point matters for shipowners. If ABS embeds digital twin-based assessment into its review process, yards and operators gain a faster, more predictable route to approval for ammonia-fueled newbuilds — a segment where ordering interest is rising but regulatory and safety validation timelines remain uncertain.

Patrick Ryan, ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, framed the commercial logic directly. "By pairing CFD analysis with digital twin technology, this project gives designers a faster, more rigorous way to understand leak behavior. ABS is proud to bring our technical authority to this collaboration with HD KSOE and Siemens," he said.

Why does design-stage simulation matter for owners?

Ammonia's toxicity makes leak behavior the central safety case for any vessel burning it. Traditional CFD studies are slow and expensive, and running them late in design means findings can force structural or systems changes when they are most costly to implement.

Digital twins compress that cycle. By modeling dispersion virtually and iterating scenarios quickly, yards can test more failure modes earlier, while classification societies can assess safety evidence against consistent, repeatable simulations rather than one-off studies.

For forwarders and carriers watching the alternative fuel race, the agreement signals that ammonia tonnage is moving from concept studies toward engineering validation — with three of the industry's heavier players aligning on a common simulation framework.

Chang Kwangpil, Head of the Future Technology Institute at HD KSOE, positioned the deal within a broader industrial shift. "The AI transformation of the shipbuilding industry is not simply about applying new technologies; it is a process of innovating the way we work. We expect the integration of AI and digital twin technologies to accelerate further in the R&D field as well," he said.

Siemens emphasized the reliability angle. Byung Joon Oh, Country Manager of Siemens Digital Industries Software Korea, said: "Physics-based simulation and advanced digital twin technologies are key to ensuring the safety and engineering reliability of next-generation vessels. Through close technical collaboration with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and ABS, we will accelerate safety validation for ammonia-fueled vessels and continue to support digital innovation across the global marine industry."

What comes next?

ABS says it continues to provide guidance on ammonia as a marine fuel as the industry evaluates alternative propulsion options. For HD KSOE, the MOU extends a pattern of positioning Korean shipbuilding around AI-driven design tools rather than yard capacity alone.

No timelines, vessel classes or target ship types were disclosed in the announcement. But with experimental research at HD KSOE now paired to ABS's assessment methodology, the collaboration is likely to shape how quickly ammonia-fueled designs clear safety review — and therefore how soon owners can order such tonnage with confidence.