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| Hyundai Steel CEO Ahn Dong-il / Courtesy of Hyundai Steel |
By Lee Kyung-min
Hyundai Steel plans to launch HyECOsteel, a low-carbon brand, to bolster brand marketing in line with the global carbon-neutral transformation in the automobile and shipbuilding industries. HyECOsteel has a strong commitment to "green steel" manufacturing, it added.
The Hyundai Motor affiliate said in April that its steel mill will adopt a "green steel" manufacturing process to better respond to "green protectionism" as evidenced by the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a tool it said would promote fair pricing of carbon emitted during the production of carbon-intensive goods that are entering the EU, and to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.
Ahead of its first-quarter earnings report, the firm in April unveiled a carbon-neutral growth plan whereby direct and indirect emissions will be cut by 12 percent by 2030 to achieve net-zero goals in 2050.
The Hyundai affiliate plans to produce high-quality steel for low-carbon automobiles while maintaining the quality of blast furnace products.
It plans to achieve carbon neutrality by establishing the production system of "electric furnace-blast furnace complex process."
Hyundai Steel established Hy-Cube, an electric furnace-based carbon-neutral steel production system.
It plans to produce low-carbon high-quality plates by 2030, by converting to a hydrogen-based steel production system.
The ultimate goal is to become a carbon neutrality leader in the electric furnace sector.
Hy-Cube will help the firm respond flexibly to carbon reduction tasks involving raw materials, processes and end-products.
The Hyundai affiliate is the first Korean steel industry player to have obtained low-carbon H-shaped steel product certification from the Ministry of Environment.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) certification summarizes the results of a life cycle assessment for specific products.
The firm has 13 EPD-certified products and one certified as a low-carbon product.
Hyundai's H-shaped steel is produced by recycling iron scrap through an electric furnace method, contributing to green steel production.
"Global advanced economies are focusing on protecting their industries and boosting industrial competitiveness under the broader context of climate change," a Hyundai Steel official said.
"Carbon neutrality is not an option but a necessity. We will fortify capabilities to secure new growth drivers to leap forward as a sustainable green steelmaker."
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