Hyundai Acquires 100 Percent Renewable Electricity in the United States, in Partnership with the Dutch Government

Sign up for daily news from CleanTechnica in the email. Or follow us on Google News!

Hyundai continues to be a bit of a hero in cleantech. Well, maybe that’s going a bit far, but it’s definitely a company that has made a lot of good decisions about electric cars, and now we have some good news from Hyundai about renewable energy as well.

Hyundai Expands Its US Drive

Hyundai has signed a deal to get solar power for all of its US factories. Hyundai Motor Group has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Matrix Renewables to obtain solar power. The electricity comes from a 147 MW power plant called the Stillhouse Solar Project. Matrix Renewables is from Madrid, Spain, but this project will be in Texas.

Hyundai plans to make further investments and sign more renewable energy contracts for US plants later this year. The company will also start doing this more in other industries around the world.

From this large solar power station, 378 GWh of electricity is expected to be produced per year. Therefore, the estimate is that it will reduce Hyundai’s carbon emissions by 140,000 tons per year.

“Enhanced solar power will support sustainable manufacturing at several factories connected to the Group in the United States, such as HMGMA, a factory specializing in electric vehicles (EVs), and other plants that supply parts, sheet metal and sheets for the Group’s EVs,” Hyundai writes. “Group partners, including HMGMA, Hyundai Mobis North America Electrified Powertrain LLC, Hyundai Steel Georgia Inc., and Hyundai Transys Georgia Powertrain Inc., jointly joined the agreement and will strengthen the sustainable supply and renewable energy from parts to vehicles .”

Hyundai + Dutch Government = Better Travel

Hyundai also announced yesterday that it is joining forces with the Dutch government. Why? Be smarter.

Hyundai and Kia vehicles will be connected to the Netherlands’ “smart” infrastructure to receive “smart traffic and safety information.” What does that mean? I also had to ask, but the answer is straightforward. “Information includes real-time road accident data, and ambulance approaching alerts, and makes it easier to pay for cars, while the development of increased communication between Hyundai and Kia vehicles aims to further reduce traffic congestion.”

That sounds good. It’s not revolutionary, but it can help with safety from time to time.

To finish, Hyundai writes the following: “The project is in line with the Group’s strategy to move to SDx (everything defined by software), building a user-centric mobility ecosystem defined by software and AI. The group will continue to work with the Netherlands to identify further opportunities to improve the smart mobility experience for consumers.” AI is a great buzzword that is allegedly driving many unrealistic, space projects and startups, but at least in this case, companies are doing something practical that will save lives. Enjoy!