– Hyundai Steel Exploring New U.S. Steel Mill While Lacking Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen Implementation in Korea
– Greenhouse Gas Emissions Set to Increase with Dangjin Gas Power Plant
– Failure to Improve Carbon Neutrality Roadmap Threatens Hyundai’s Global Competitiveness and Creates Group-Wide Risks
January 23, 2025
While Hyundai Motor Group is considering a 10 trillion won investment in a U.S. steel mill, a new analysis suggests that Hyundai Steel’s increasing fossil fuel dependency could threaten Hyundai Motor’s global competitiveness.
Solutions for Our Climate and international climate organization Action Speaks Louder (ASL) revealed in a report today that Hyundai Steel is investing in large-scale new fossil fuel infrastructure while using no renewable energy. This direction contradicts their stated aim of “securing sustainable growth and global competitiveness” through their U.S. steel mill investment plans.
According to the report, Hyundai Steel used no renewable energy in 2022 and 2023. In a global comparison of steelmakers (as of 2022), Hyundai Steel ranked lowest alongside Dongkuk Steel. In contrast, Swedish steelmaker SSAB achieved a 19% renewable energy usage rate during the same period, demonstrating the feasibility of renewable energy use in the steel industry.
While Hyundai Steel has announced plans to use new production methods at its U.S. mill, it is investing in a large-scale new gas power plant domestically. Set to begin construction in April 2025, this plant will emit an additional 410,216 tons (tCO2eq) of greenhouse gases annually compared to grid electricity from 2028, according to the report. This contradicts Hyundai Steel’s claim that the gas power plant will reduce emissions by 8.8%.
Laura Kelly, Director at ASL, commented that the U.S. steel mill construction “must be more than just circumventing tariff barriers; it should be a bold green steel initiative to achieve early carbon neutrality targets for both Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Motor Group,” adding that “new investments must contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions through procurement of renewable energy.”
Hyundai Steel’s increasing fossil fuel dependency could lead to greenwashing controversies and weaken Hyundai Motor Group’s competitiveness. While Hyundai Steel declared in its 2023 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap plans to reduce carbon emissions by 12% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the two climate organizations note that this 2030 target falls far short of European and Japanese competitors’ targets (30-48%), with no credible plan to bridge the gap between 2030 and 2050 net-zero goals.
The report warns this situation could become a serious brand risk, as Hyundai Steel’s major customers like Apple and Microsoft are actively pursuing supply chain decarbonization. These risks could materialize with the implementation of strict climate regulations like the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. Already, Nordea Bank and Danske Bank have excluded Hyundai Steel’s domestic competitor POSCO from their investment portfolio due to poor ESG performance.
More concerning is that these risks could spread across the entire Hyundai Motor Group. As Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Mobis primarily source steel from Hyundai Steel, its slow transition to eco-friendly practices could weaken the entire group’s competitiveness. Notably, Hyundai Motor has only set a target to reduce supply chain carbon emissions by 10% from 2019 levels by 2030, without presenting specific green steel procurement plans.
“If Hyundai Steel, which prides itself as an eco-friendly electric arc furnace steelmaker, doesn’t improve its ambiguous renewable energy usage and carbon neutrality roadmap, which lacks 2035 and 2040 targets, this may become a major risk factor not only for Hyundai Motor’s global competitiveness but for the entire group,” said Lee Myung-ju, Senior Researcher at Solutions for Our Climate.
For more information, please download our report: REthinking Hyundai’s Eco Steel: How fossil fuels threaten the brand.
Contact:
-Kinam Kim, Senior Green Steel Strategist, ASL (kinam@speakslouder.org)
-Myung-ju Lee, Senior Researcher, Solutions for Our Climate (heather.lee@forourclimate.org)
Additional quotes:
ASL’s Senior Green Steel Strategist Kinam Kim emphasized, “Faulty data use in emissions reduction claims could seriously damage the credibility of Hyundai Steel’s eco-friendly brand in international markets. It is not convincing to promote carbon neutrality or an eco-friendly brand while increasing fossil fuel use and failing to commit to renewable energy and green hydrogen targets.”
Comparison of Major Automakers’ Carbon Reduction Targets
– Hyundai Motor: 10% supply chain carbon emission reduction by 2030 (vs 2019)
– Mercedes-Benz: 50% per-vehicle carbon emission reduction across value chain by 2030 (vs 2020)
– BMW: 20% supply chain carbon emission reduction by 2030, reviewing suppliers’ renewable energy use

Photo: Blast furnace landscape in Hyundai Steel Dangjin steelwork.