South Korea’s Hyundai Oilbank steps up solar, hydrogen transition

SOUTH Korea’s Hyundai Oilbank on March 29 said it will expand its Blue Clean campaign to seek solar and hydrogen transition throughout its value chain – from logistics centres to service stations. Blue is Hyundai Oilbank’s brand colour.

According to the refinery, it will install solar power generation facilities at leftover spaces inside logistics centres where petrochemical products are shipped in and out.

A company official said: “The logistics centres consume a huge amount of electricity. Hyundai Oilbank will source the electricity from solar power and even make profits by selling the remaining electricity.”

Hyundai Oilbank, which runs eight logistics centres in South Korea, will conduct pilot tests at two locations – one in Seoul and the other in a rural region.

The Blue Clean campaign also includes infrastructure investment plans. Currently, Hyundai Oilbank has 20 service stations with electric vehicle charging systems. The company aims to raise the figure to 200 by 2023.

At the same time, it will roll out 180 hydrogen charging stations by 2030. Hyundai Oilbank, which runs only one hydrogen charging station, aims to establish two to three more in the Seoul metropolitan area this year.

At the same time, to protect the soil beneath the pump stations from being contaminated by oil leakage, Hyundai Oilbank will install a real-time underground oil leak detection system known as “Holmes” at 150 service stations this year as part of its environmental, social and governance efforts.