Hyundai Engineering said on the 5th it will expand its technology-based energy value chain business in step with the era of energy transition.
Hyundai Engineering will foster new growth engines by expanding energy business, securing core source technologies for key businesses, diversifying orders for advanced industrial architecture, and building electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
To clarify its unique philosophy and vision, it plans to establish a new value system that reflects its future direction and announce it within the second quarter of this year.
In the nuclear sector, it is strengthening capabilities with the goal of securing technologies such as design of core reactor equipment. Hyundai Engineering is currently participating with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in a research reactor project at the University of Missouri in the United States.
The project is to build a high-performance 20-megawatt thermal (MWth) research reactor, and Hyundai Engineering handled the initial design including key systems and is aiming to win follow-up phases. The University of Missouri's research reactor is used to produce medical radioisotopes, and the goal of this project is to expand isotope production capacity.
In the clean energy sector, it will make a full-fledged entry into the liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction plant market. As the importance of LNG liquefaction infrastructure grows amid rising global LNG demand, Hyundai Engineering will enter the LNG liquefaction business based on design and construction experience and technical capabilities accumulated through gas processing facilities in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and the Kuwait Al-Zour LNG import terminal project.
In July last year, Hyundai Engineering signed an agreement to develop an LNG liquefaction business with Woodside Energy and Hyundai Glovis, and through various pilot projects it is strengthening design capabilities and laying the groundwork for market entry. By collaborating with licensors, it aims to secure core technologies and expects to make phased entries into small and midsize as well as large engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects.
In renewable energy, it will lay the groundwork for large domestic and overseas orders, led by solar power plant projects. In 2024, Hyundai Engineering acquired the rights to the 200-megawatt (MW) "Hillsboro solar power plant" project and is pushing for commercial operation by the end of 2027. Based on solid results such as the "Saemangeum onshore solar Zone 1 power project," the largest onshore solar facility in Korea, it is building capabilities to provide end-to-end energy solutions from business development to EPC and operations and maintenance (O&M).
This year, through the "Serbia solar power plant project" to build a total 1-gigawatt (GW) solar power plant and energy storage system in Serbia, it plans to secure new market track records while strengthening independent capabilities to carry out energy projects.
Hyundai Engineering will actively seek to secure core technologies in areas such as nuclear power, hydrogen, and carbon reduction and utilization to play a key role across all stages of the energy value chain. It plans to leap from an EPC company that built petrochemical, gas, and combined-cycle power plants to a company that also provides energy technology solutions.
In the small modular reactor (SMR) business, it is reviewing joint technology development and strategic investment cooperation with leading global SMR technology corporations with the goal of securing source technologies. In the SMR field, which will be central to the future energy market, its strategy is to grow beyond the role of a simple EPC firm into a technology-based, high value-added operator.
In hydrogen, construction began in January on the "electrolysis-based hydrogen production base" in Boryeong, where it will conduct demonstrations of domestically developed electrolysis technology. Starting with Boryeong, it will collect data through small-scale electrolysis demonstration projects in places like Jeju, standardize electrolysis systems, and lay the groundwork for future medium- and large-scale projects.
It is also concentrating capabilities on securing carbon reduction and utilization technologies. Through partnerships and cooperative frameworks, it will secure promising technologies such as direct air capture (DAC) and carbon dioxide (CO2) liquefaction and carry out phased demonstrations.
Hyundai Engineering will also aggressively expand industrial architecture projects across various fields in step with the global industrial reorganization trend. As diversification of manufacturing bases accelerates worldwide, its strategy is to expand orders for industrial facilities and reshape its business portfolio around them.
It will strengthen follow-on orders linked to existing reference industries. Through preconstruction-based sales, it will secure subsequent projects by providing customized services to clients in advance while simultaneously expanding into adjacent fields similar to those it has already entered. The strategy is to quickly secure projects with similar processes within the same supply chain to enhance first-mover competitiveness.
It will also accelerate entry into new industry groups through technological advancement. It plans to prioritize areas with technical requirements similar to those it has already entered. As AI transformation (AX) accelerates, it will make a full-fledged entry into the data center construction market.
Hyundai Engineering will take the lead in building an electric vehicle charging ecosystem by expanding its Electric Vehicle Charging service (EVC) business. Starting with the launch of a dedicated team in 2022, Hyundai Engineering entered the EV charging service market and over the past four years has expanded into installation and operation of charging facilities as well as maintenance.
This year, in step with growth in the domestic EV market, it plans to focus on expanding charging infrastructure. Based on last year's figures of about 9,000 installed EV chargers, Hyundai Engineering aims to expand to more than 32,000 this year and continue to increase its market share.
A Hyundai Engineering official said, "This year will be the first year of a new beginning that opens a sustainable future," adding, "We will grow into a company that plays a key role across all stages of the energy value chain by adding technological strength to the global execution capabilities we have accumulated over the past 50 years."