Hyundai Motor's 'RE100 Achievement Goal,' Procuring Solar Energy at Ulsan Plant

Hyundai Motor Company will procure solar renewable energy for its Ulsan plant. This is to achieve the RE100 goal of utilizing 100% renewable energy at its business sites.

On the 23rd, Hyundai Motor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Hyundai Engineering & Construction for a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for solar renewable energy at the Ulsan plant. A PPA is a system where electricity users purchase renewable energy from renewable energy power producers. It is the most widely used method among RE100 implementation measures, offering the advantage of stable long-term procurement of renewable energy.

Through this PPA agreement, Hyundai plans to procure 64MW (megawatts) of solar renewable energy for the Ulsan plant by 2025. This is expected to reduce approximately 39,000 tons of carbon annually. This effect is equivalent to absorbing the carbon emitted by 23,000 compact sedans driving 15,000 km each year.

This agreement is significant as it marks Hyundai’s full-scale move toward achieving RE100 by 2045. Previously, in April last year, Hyundai, along with three affiliates within the group?Kia, Hyundai Mobis, and Hyundai Wia?was approved to join the RE100 initiative. Hyundai has set a plan to use 100% renewable energy by 2045, five years ahead of the global RE100 recommended target of 2050.

Hyundai plans to invest more than 200 billion KRW by 2025 to build solar self-generation infrastructure on domestic business sites and aims to supply 60% of the total electricity for domestic and overseas business sites with renewable energy by 2030.

For domestic business sites, Hyundai plans to install solar self-generation facilities on idle land and building rooftops to achieve 10% renewable energy use by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Based on facility investments, the plan is to secure more than 150MW of solar self-generation and more than 300MW through PPAs by 2030.

For overseas business sites, Hyundai aims to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. Considering geopolitical factors and renewable energy environments for each site, Hyundai will build a diverse portfolio including self-generation, PPAs, and the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC).

In fact, Hyundai’s Czech plant (HMMC) and Indonesian plant (HMMI) achieved 100% renewable energy use last year and this year, respectively, through REC purchases. The plants in the United States (HMMA, HMGMA), India (HMI), and T?rkiye (HAOS) are increasing their renewable energy usage with the goal of achieving RE100 by 2025.