Hyundai Electric to switch to 100% renewable energy by 2040

Hyundai Electric, a power equipment and energy solution affiliate of HD Hyundai, said on Thursday it would convert 100% of the electricity used at all of its domestic and overseas business sites to renewable energy by 2040.

The company plans to first convert 100% of the electricity used at overseas business sites, such as those in the United States and China, to renewable energy by 2030, and then achieve the RE100 goal at all domestic and overseas sites by 2040.

RE100 refers to companies' voluntary commitment to respond to climate change by using renewable energies such as solar and wind power for 100% of their electricity needs.

Hyundai Electric plans to increase its proportion of renewable energy use through the direct production of renewable energy and by signing power purchase agreements with renewable energy generators.

In the case of plants with high power usage, renewable energy will be directly produced by securing idle land nearby where new and renewable power generation facilities can be located.

Hyundai Electric currently produces 500 MWh of renewable electricity annually after installing solar panels at its Sunam plant in Ulsan, one of its main production facilities.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com