Hyundai Heavy Industry (HHI) Group has announced that its three affiliates specialising in construction equipment (Hyundai Genuine, Hyundai Construction Equipment and Hyundai Doosan Infracore) will attain carbon neutrality in all of their workplaces both in and outside Korea by 2050.
Hyundai Genuine and Hyundai Construction Equipment (HCE) aim to achieve carbon neutrality at their headquarters in Ulsan, Korea and all workplaces in China, India and others, while Hyundai Doosan Infracore also shared a similar plan earlier.
HCE recently presented a mid/long-term roadmap for coping with climate change, including how to execute the goal of carbon neutrality and its eco-friendly product strategy.
HCE plans to reduce its annual carbon emissions by 42% from the 2021 level by 2030 and by 71% by 2040 and attain its carbon neutrality goal by 2050 based on the SBTi (Science Based Target initiative) 1.5℃ Scenario.
For this goal, HCE will improve the work process in all its factories in the home country and in foreign countries like China, India and Brazil to enhance production efficiency and push forward with the fuel switch to renewable energy.
As for its domestic factories, HCE plans to work fully under the goal of RE100 (a global initiative bringing together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity) by 2025 through private power generation and PPA (Power Purchase Agreements). In the case of Ulsan factory as one of its leading factories, the company plans to install rooftop PV facilities with a capacity of 2 MWp to meet its energy need on its own.
HCE also aims to shift to eco-friendly operation to reduce carbon emissions associated with the use of products. The company will have the sales of eco-friendly products account for 83% of its entire sales by 2030 and 97% by 2040 through the reshuffling of the portfolio focusing on electric battery, hydrogen fuel cell, hybrid power and products adopting fuel-efficient technologies.
To that end, HCE will introduce power platform-based second-generation equipment by 2023 and build the lineup of mini power excavators by 2026. The 14-t hydrogen wheel excavator, which the company developed ahead of rivals worldwide, will start to be produced in large quantities beginning 2026.
“Carbon neutrality is a promise that we make to the succeeding generations to build a better future. We will invest KRW 200 billion to make the Ulsan factory an eco-friendly one, and it will be the first step taken by us to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality,” said HCE president Choi Cheol-gon.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Genuine India, another intermediary holding company of the HHI Group, plans to sophisticate the workplace energy management system by establishing a strategy for coping with climate change starting this year and attain carbon neutrality for itself by 2050 through the purchase of renewable energy and the like.
