[K-Construction, New Challenge]
Building an Integrated IT Platform for Energy Trading
Participation in Renewable Energy Project at Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex
Hyundai Engineering & Construction is actively expanding into the power brokerage trading sector, aiming to diversify its renewable energy business portfolio.
Last September, the company formed a strategic partnership through equity investment with the energy IT startup ‘SixtyHertz (60Hz)’ to build an integrated IT platform for energy trading and solution provision, thereby expanding its reach to the PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) business that directly supplies renewable energy to corporations and households.
The integrated IT platform is a core technology for the power brokerage trading business, which targets tens of thousands of power generation sources and electricity consumers. Due to the nature of electricity being supplied and consumed simultaneously, it accurately predicts and controls supply and demand, clearly interacts with entities such as KEPCO and the Korea Power Exchange, and especially enables stable power supply by precisely forecasting the output of small-scale, distributed renewable energy resources nationwide.
Concrete actions have also begun. In October, Hyundai Engineering & Construction signed an agreement to officially commence the ‘Energy Self-Sufficiency Infrastructure Construction and Operation Project’ in the Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex.
As the overall leader of the power generation infrastructure construction project, Hyundai Engineering & Construction will be responsible for building and operating renewable energy power facilities and renewable energy power trading together with JH Energy and Wonkwang S&T, leading solar energy companies in Incheon.
The Energy Self-Sufficiency Infrastructure Construction and Operation Project (hereinafter referred to as the Energy Self-Sufficiency Project) is part of the Smart Green Industrial Complex Promotion Project led by the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation to digitalize, decarbonize, and achieve energy self-reliance in industrial complexes. Its core is to reduce carbon emissions, transition to renewable energy, and support RE100 for small and medium-sized enterprises by establishing renewable energy power plants and integrated energy management systems.
The Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex was selected through a public contest in April and will complete infrastructure construction by 2025, after which the operation project will officially begin.
Hyundai Construction is actively entering the power brokerage trading sector, aiming to diversify its renewable energy business portfolio. The photo shows the Hyundai Construction Gyedong Building. [Photo by Hyundai Construction]
Earlier this year, Hyundai Engineering & Construction signed a ‘Renewable Energy Transition Cooperation Agreement’ with the industry-academia-research consortium ‘Incheon Mobility Alliance (formerly Namdong Smart Mobility Mini Cluster),’ led by automotive parts companies in the Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex. They have been collaborating on commercializing renewable energy facility construction and supplying renewable energy electricity, reviewing practical renewable energy usage plans for tenant companies composed of medium and small enterprises.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction is introducing the ‘On-Site PPA’ trading method for the first time in an industrial complex by building a 7.5MW solar power plant on factory rooftops leased from tenant companies in the Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex to produce eco-friendly electricity and supply the generated power.
On-Site PPA is a method where a power producer leases rooftops or idle land from companies (electricity consumers) wishing to use renewable energy, builds renewable energy generation facilities, and operates them responsibly. The generated electricity is not connected to KEPCO’s transmission network but is entirely self-consumed by the electricity-consuming companies.
Additionally, Hyundai Engineering & Construction recently signed a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Hyundai Mobis for a total of 150GWh until 2048. This corresponds to the electricity usage of 42,000 households with an average family of four over 25 years.
Through this contract, Hyundai Mobis has secured a stable supply of renewable energy for long-term use, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction has established a foundation to provide more diverse solutions and products to companies fulfilling RE100 commitments.
Going forward, Hyundai Engineering & Construction plans to actively align with Hyundai Motor Group’s carbon neutrality and eco-friendly management efforts following its RE100 membership by diversifying its renewable energy business portfolio, including the power brokerage trading business.
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