Siemens Xcelerator will thus become the digital backbone of the project, which also includes the PLM portfolio’s industry-leading digital twin technology, model-based system engineering (MBSE), simulation solutions (e.g. hydrodynamics), and product lifecycle management (PLM) to transform shipbuilding and ship production across the US.
“A Key to Rebuilding the US Shipbuilding Industry”
“This agreement brings together global shipbuilding expertise and Siemens’ proven digital transformation technologies to help US shipyards build smarter, faster, and be more resilient,” says Robert Jones, CRO, Chief Revenue Officer, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “By combining our digital backbone with HD Hyundai’s advanced technology, we are enabling the revitalization of the American shipbuilding industry and supporting the creation of a sustainable, future-ready workforce.”
HD Hyundai’s Sangmin Moon, for his part, stated that maximizing production efficiency through digital and automated technology, such as that implemented within the Group, is key to rebuilding the American shipbuilding industry:
“HD Hyundai’s accumulated shipbuilding technology and Siemens’ digital capabilities will help create new opportunities for the American shipbuilding industry,” Moon continued.
Notably, the HD Hyundai Group, which includes HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai Samho, and HD Hyundai Mipo, is a group with deep expertise in advanced technology and shipbuilding automation.
Digital Twin Technology and MBSE
The press release further notes that the collaboration positions Siemens Xcelerator portfolio as a provider of digital backbone for the shipbuilding industry in the US, by leveraging the company’s extensive digital twin technology, Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE), and PLM to transform shipbuilding and ship production across the US.
The value of implementing MBSE is highlighted by analyst CIMdata as a key to streamlining product development processes. In a webinar in June this year, it was stated that “model-based methods are driving a changing PLM landscape” and pointed out, among other things, that:
• Industry and solution providers agree that MBSE has increased dramatically in perceived value and importance over the past three to five years
• The methodology for MBSE is in its infancy – some experts make a comparison with CAD in the 1990s
• Companies are increasingly looking towards MBSE methods to manage end-to-end traceability of product requirements.
That said, clearly, since the collaboration began in 2022, Siemens and HD Hyundai have developed an interesting platform for manufacturing innovation that consolidates design and production data into a single digital ecosystem. It also enables virtual simulation of design and production sequences to reduce ”trial and error” on the shop floor.
In the recently signed MoU, the companies further promise to jointly develop professional training programs to build a workforce that can manage the digital tool chain. This includes plans from HD Hyundai to deploy instructors to more than 30 Siemens training centers in the United States to provide theoretical and practical instruction.
Good Economic Growth
An interesting commercial aspect of the now announced venture is that digital ship technology is predicted to grow. According to research firm Markets & Markets, the market for digital shipbuilding solutions is expected to grow from $1.3 billion in 2022 to $5.5 billion in 2030, with an annual growth rate of 19.1% during the forecast period.
The point of digitally managed product development and manufacturing is to develop cutting-edge, well-integrated digital technologies such as PLM/PDM, CAx, digital twins, AI, machine learning, IoT, and additive manufacturing, among others.
At shipyards where this has been implemented, progress has contributed to increasing coordination and efficiency in operations. The above-mentioned technology domains are used in various processes such as design and construction, manufacturing and planning, maintenance and support, research and development, and training and simulation.
“Digital transformation of shipyards helps streamline the shipbuilding process, increases efficiency, and reduces the time and cost of manufacturing. These factors are expected to drive the digital shipyard market,” Markets & Markets writes in an August 2025 report, adding: “A digital shipyard integrates system and/or cloud-based solutions that coordinate, monitor, and improve processes related to ship manufacturing, maintenance, and support. A digital shipyard also replaces outdated technology platforms and their fragmented data with unified, state-of-the-art planning tools and a single common repository of design data that is always up-to-date and universally accessible. The digital shipyard concept ensures that every aspect of shipbuilding during design and construction and throughout its life cycle is active and accessible to the crew, those involved in fleet maintenance and upgrade, and approved suppliers.”
