Hanwha Group said on Jan. 27 it signed MOUs with five Canadian companies in steel, AI and space to win Canada’s next-generation submarine project. Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems signed MOUs with Algoma Steel, Cohere, Telesat, MDA Space and PV Labs at the Korea-Canada Industry Cooperation Forum in Toronto.

The event was attended by presidential chief of staff Hoon-sik Kang (강훈식), Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Jeong-kwan Kim (김정관), and Defense Acquisition Program Administration chief Yong-cheol Lee (이용철), among other government envoys. The government is providing support at the pan-government level as it pushes the Canadian submarine project bid as a national strategic export project.

Hanwha Ocean will work with Algoma Steel, Canada’s largest steelmaker, to build a local steel plant and establish infrastructure for submarine construction and maintenance. Hanwha Ocean will contribute about C$345 million. Hanwha Ocean and Hanwha Systems will jointly develop specialized AI technologies with Canadian AI company Cohere that can be applied to the shipbuilding industry and submarine systems.

Hanwha Systems signed an MOU with Canadian satellite communications company Telesat for cooperation on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications. The two companies will develop a next-generation LEO satellite communications network and jointly pursue South Korea’s military LEO satellite communications system project. Hanwha Systems also signed an MOU with MDA Space for satellite communications and space technology cooperation for defense and security purposes, and an MOU with PV Labs to advance electro-optical and infrared (EO-IR) sensor technology.

Global management consulting firm KPMG forecast that if Hanwha’s industry cooperation plan is implemented, it will create cumulative employment of more than 200,000 people in Canada from 2026 to 2040.

Hanwha Ocean CEO Hee-cheol Kim (김희철) said, "By establishing stable, long-term steel production and infrastructure in Canada, we will contribute to building a submarine capability that can be trusted not only today but also by future generations."