In Seoul's Seongbuk District, Hyundai Motor's ST1 will take charge of collecting recyclables.
Hyundai Motor signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul Metropolitan Government's Seongbuk District for a pilot project on smart collection of recyclables based on the ST1 electrified business platform. The memorandum signing ceremony was held on the 14th at 2 p.m. in the mayor's office on the 6th floor of Seongbuk District Office in Seoul, attended by Kim Seung-chan, executive vice president and head of domestic sales at Hyundai Motor, Seong-ro Lee, mayor of Seongbuk District, and other officials.
Using the eco-friendly ST1 to collect recyclables can reduce air pollution from vehicle exhaust and vehicle noise. The ST1's advantage of a low-floor platform can also improve working conditions for workers who frequently get on and off. Introducing a smart collection solution together is expected to improve the operational efficiency of the recyclable waste disposal business.
Using the smart collection solution, dedicated navigation can identify the exact location of recyclables collection points so work can be carried out quickly, and optimizing travel routes can make working hours more efficient, protect workers' safety and health, and reduce charging costs.
Hyundai Motor plans to develop ST1-based dedicated vehicles for smart collection of recyclables (PBV, Purpose Built Vehicle) and smart collection solutions by the end of the year and operate a pilot project for about six months as early as the first quarter of next year, with a view to transitioning to a full-scale project and expanding adoption by local governments after that period.
The pilot project area is within Seongbuk District's jurisdiction and has many hills and alleys, making it difficult for existing large trucks to access; two ST1s will be deployed in densely populated areas of single-family homes and commercial establishments.
This memorandum was promoted with the goal of carrying out a new level of ESG activities that protect the environment while considering the safety of workers and residents. Local governments and small and medium-sized companies, including a household waste collection and transport contractor (Cheolhan Jeonghwa Enterprise), a vehicle body company (Korea Three-Axle), and a solution developer (ACI), worked together to produce results.
The ST1, launched by Hyundai Motor last year, is equipped with a 76.1kWh battery and has a single-charge range of 317 km for cargo and 298 km for refrigerated cargo, and based on a 350kW-class ultra-fast charging system, it can charge from 10% to 80% of battery capacity in 20 minutes.
It is especially equipped with an infotainment system based on the Android operating system (OS), which allows the use of various applications and offers scalability to implement a customer-customized work environment.
A Hyundai Motor official said the project is expected to protect residential environments from air pollution and noise, improving residents' satisfaction as well as contributing to carbon neutrality, and added that the company will continue efforts to provide not only dedicated vehicles for smart collection of recyclables but also various customer-tailored business solutions.
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