[BODY]
HD Hyundai Site Solution, the intermediate holding company for the construction machinery division of HD Hyundai (267250), has succeeded in developing a coating that can substantially reduce carbon emissions generated during the painting process.
HD Hyundai Site Solution announced on the 23rd that it recently developed a low-temperature curing coating that can cut carbon emissions from the painting process of construction machinery such as excavators and wheel loaders by about 53%. This is equivalent to planting about 104,000 new pine trees annually.
HD Hyundai Site Solution achieved this result after more than a year of research. Previously, a high temperature of 80–100°C had to be maintained to firmly harden the coating applied to parts, but the newly developed low-temperature curing coating can harden even at low temperatures of 50–60°C, significantly reducing the thermal energy required for the drying process.
HD Hyundai Site Solution changed the resin component that makes up the coating from acrylic polyurethane to a polyaspartic type, which has a faster chemical reaction rate.
HD Hyundai Site Solution is testing the newly developed coating on its production lines and is pursuing its introduction at domestic sites including the Ulsan Campus, as well as Incheon and Gunsan. When actually applied, it is expected to reduce liquefied natural gas (LNG) usage for raising the temperature of the drying process by about 320,000㎥ and cut carbon emissions by 689 tons annually.
In addition, the new coating emits about 69% less volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during the drying process than before, allowing the company to proactively respond to strengthening eco-friendly regulatory standards.
Beyond this, HD Hyundai Site Solution has developed a special coating with low volatile organic compound (VOCs) emissions and applied it to HD Construction Machinery's China site and domestic electrification product production lines. It is also working to reduce greenhouse gases by converting production processes at domestic and overseas sites to renewable energy.
An HD Hyundai Site Solution official said, "The development of the new coating is a research achievement aimed at realizing carbon reduction from the construction machinery production stage, and it will be an industry first when applied to actual mass production," adding, "We will continue to improve the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes and reduce greenhouse gases to achieve our 2050 carbon neutrality goal for our sites."
