Environment | About Sustainability | Company

Eco-friendliness is a vital part of our production process

Hyundai strives to respond to ever-stricter environmental regulations around the world and the rapid growth of the market for eco-friendly vehicles. We are therefore minimizing the environmental impact of our cars by expediting the production and development of eco-friendly vehicles and by improving the fuel efficiency of our internal combustion engines. We are also reducing the amount of hazardous substances used in automotive parts, using more eco-friendly materials, and recycling waste resources.

Due to the characteristics of the automotive industry, automobile manufacturers use a great amount of energy and discharge high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG). With environmental regulations being enforced around the world, Hyundai is committed to ensuring that our eco-friendly production satisfies all global standards. We have established the Global Energy and Greenhouse Gas Management Center, and we are making a number of changes in our business, including using more solar energy and improving our hydrogen infrastructure.

Eco-friendly Vehicles

Hyundai has been leading the ICEV market as a global automaker, and continues to improve the eco-friendliness of ICEVs while developing and producing eco-friendly vehicles such as EVs and FCEVs. We are reducing the environmental impact of our vehicles by using a wide range of technologies and systems throughout the entire life-cycle of a vehicle, from product development to manufacturing, use, and end-of-life.

Hyundai’s direction to improve fuel efficiency

Developing next-generation powertrains
(Smartstream)

•Fuel efficiency enhancement by redesigning
engine structure
- Optimizing the combustion chamber and piston shape
- Change of intake port shape
- Reducing mechanical friction on engine moving system

• Implement high fuel efficiency by applying key
technology
- Integrated Thermal Management System (ITMS)
- Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD)
- Dual Port Fuel Injection (DPFI)

Improving fuel efficiency and
applying new technologies

• Improving tire rolling resistance and
aerodynamics; and making tires lightweight
- Developing electrification technologies,
such as 48V mild hybridinjection technology

Improving fuel efficiency on real roads
(Off-cycle technology)

• Applying eco technologies to reduce
power load
- LED light bulbs, high efficiency
alternator, solar panel, etc.

Responding to Climate Change

Hyundai is reducing its GHG emissions as part of the extensive efforts being made by the international community to counter climate change. In addition to developing eco-friendly vehicles, we are reducing energy usage at all of our business sites, especially production plants, including building high efficiency facilities and making process improvements. In addition, the GHG strategy organization consisting of the energy managers from all of our business sites, is helping us to build sustainable and eco-friendly plants.

In 2018, Hyundai built on our existing energy saving measures, including the manufacturing of a photovoltaic power generation system and the use of a co-generation system, by establishing a mid- to long-term strategy to reduce GHG emissions and to use more renewable energy.

Energy Management and Reduction of GHG Emissions at Major Business Sites

Ulsan Plant

Hyundai’s Ulsan Plant became the first automotive plant in Korea to build a co-generation system to replace its diesel emergency generators. The system uses a gas turbine that burns LNG to supply the electric power and steam needed at the plant. The entire power generation process is automated through a Factory Energy Management System (FEMS) and is designed to allow unmanned operations.

This co-generation system produces 11 million kWh of electricity annually, and has enabled savings of around KRW 900 million every year during the peak demand periods in winter and summer. We have also installed an external steam program, which uses the heat generated during waste incineration for some of our other work processes, thus reducing our impact on the environment.

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Asan Plant

Hyundai’s Asan Plant has reduced its energy usage in a number of ways, including by installing high-efficiency facilities and optimizing its processes. The photovoltaic power generation facility has been in operation since 2013, and produces an annual 13,000 MWh of lectricity. We are continuing to expand eco-friendly management at all of our business sites, including identifying more areas in which we can use alternative energy.

The major focus of our environmental activities in 2018 was the building of an energy management system at our Asan Plant. This system examines our energy usage and GHG emissions in real time, so that we can eliminate energy wastage during non-production hours. Other activities aimed at reducing energy usage included replacing older motors with high-efficiency motors, and installing inverters and LED lights. These have resulted in an annual reduction in GHG emissions of 3,700 tons, and an annual reduction in the cost of energy of KRW 960 million.

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Namyang Technology Research Center

The Namyang Technology Research Center produces a certain amount of GHGs during its research activities, including car design, pilot production and performance testing. It therefore uses high-efficiency facilities and operational systems to minimize its GHG emissions.

Lighting fixtures in older buildings at the Technology Research Center were replaced with LED lights and an automatic lights-out system has been installed. This has resulted in a 3.32 million kWh annual reduction in the use of energy and an annual reduction of 1,547 tons of GHG emissions. Waste heat from incineration is used for heating, which reduces GHG emissions by 2,377 tons, and 720,000 kWh of electricity was produced using photovoltaic power generation facilities, reducing GHG emissions by 336 tons.

The Technology Research Center is also enhancing its energy efficiency by repairing and replacing older facilities and equipment used in its experiments, and by improving operational efficiency. An energy management system is used for the real-time monitoring and control of energy usage, and also for the empirical analysis of our reduction of GHG emissions.

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Jeonju Plant

Hyundai’s Jeonju Plant has reduced its GHG emissions by utilizing construction methods which minimize energy usage in its production facilities, and by replacing older facilities with new, high-efficiency facilities.

In 2018, the Jeonju Plant reduced its GHG emissions by 2,445 tons by applying insulating paints to its paint shop oven, standardizing its facility operating hours, installing high-efficiency air compressors, changing 1,500 fluorescent lights to LEDs, and setting up 28 powersaving circuits in its engine processing equipment. In particular, we reduced 508 tons of CO2 emissions from paint shop operations by replacing 25 older motors with high-efficiency motors.

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Reducing the Environmental Impact of Business Sites

Hyundai is constantly striving to reduce the environmental impact of all of its business activities. In managing environmental pollutants at our business sites, especially production plants, our internal control criteria are stricter than the regulatory requirements of every country in which we operate. We also have established an integrated environmental facility control system. In addition, we make sure that our employees are fully aware of the importance of the environment through corporate-wide campaigns aimed at preventing accidents and monitoring environmental risks. Furthermore, we actively respond to the environmental and social demands of our internal and external stakeholders, thus building an environmental ecosystem at our business sites that will be effective over the long-term.

RTO facilities at painting shop 42 line of Ulsan Plant

Installation of fiber disc filters at the Asan Plant

Sludge dehydrators at the Ulsan Plant

Winner in three categories at the British ‘Next Green Car’ Awards

The Next Green Car Awards are given to the best eco-friendly vehicles launched in the UK. These awards examine a wide range of vehicles and manufacturers for car of the year, and make their selections based on a number of criteria, including environmental performance and cost. Hyundai’s Kona EV received the 2018 Next Green Car Awards in two categories ‒ Car of the Year and Family Car of the Year. Hyundai also won the Manufacturer of the Year award, in recognition of our outstanding expertise in the development of EVs. It is the first time for a manufacturer, rather than a car, to receive the award.

Carbon Management Honors Club’s Award by CDP

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a global project founded in 2003. It evaluates the
activities of companies in some 90 countries around the world in reducing GHG emissions. Approximately 6,800 companies were assessed by the CDP in 2018, and 139 of them were given the top ‘Leadership A’ grade. Hyundai not only earned a Leadership A grade in 2018 but received the ‘Carbon Management Honors Club’ award.

Tenth win in the WardsAuto 10 Best Engines Award

Hyundai has been named among the 10 Best Engines Winners by WardsAuto, a total of ten times over the last 11 years, beginning with the Tau engine in 2009. The Tau engine was awarded for three consecutive years from 2009 through to 2011, and that success was followed by our winning of the pure internal combustion engine category on six occasions, for the Kappa 1.4 Turbo Engine and the Lambda 3.3 Turbo Engine. Hyundai has also been named for four times in the eco-friendly model category, for the Sonata Plug-in Hybrid, the Kona Electric, and the Nexo FCEV, thereby meeting fuel efficiency and environmental standards as well as customer requirement for vehicle performance.