Chung Eui-sun: "We will supply high-grade steel sheets made at the first K-steel mill in the U.S. to cars, robots and rockets"

【Donaldsonville, U.S. = Reporter Eun-hyo Cho】 Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, presented a plan to produce carbon-reduced, high-grade steel in the U.S. by early 2029 and supply it not only for automotive steel sheets but also for humanoid robots, artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the aerospace industry.
At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hyundai Steel-POSCO Louisiana Electric Arc Furnace Steel Mill (HPLS), held on the 4th (local time) in Donaldsonville, Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Chung Eui-sun said, "We will combine direct reduced iron and electric arc furnace technologies to produce high-grade, carbon-reduced steel. It will be used to produce next-generation mobility vehicles by Hyundai Motor, Kia and other automakers, as well as in AI data centers and power-generation facilities." Later, when reporters asked whether the steel produced here could be used in Atlas, Hyundai Motor Group's humanoid robot, Chung said, "I think we certainly should apply it." He added, "I hope that, by working even harder in the future, we will be able to supply steel for rockets, including those made by SpaceX."
Hyundai Steel and POSCO will jointly build the HPLS electric arc furnace steel mill in Donaldsonville, with an annual capacity of 2.7 million metric tons—1.8 million metric tons for automotive use and 900,000 metric tons for general use. HPLS will produce direct reduced iron (DRI), a raw material for steelmaking, using iron ore and natural gas. It will then melt the DRI together with high-grade steel scrap in an electric arc furnace and produce finished products at the same integrated facility. Hyundai Steel said the process can reduce carbon emissions by about 70% compared with molten iron produced in a blast furnace at its Dangjin Steel Mill. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter, after the local government's permitting process is completed. The total investment is $5.8 billion, or approximately 8 trillion won, and commercial production is targeted for 2029.
Hyundai Steel plans to operate HPLS to reduce the burden caused by U.S. tariffs on steel products while improving access to the North American market through low-carbon steel products.
Chung Eui-sun, who announced an investment plan worth more than $20 billion in the U.S., including the construction of a steel mill, at the White House in March last year, said HPLS had taken its first major step forward. "With the state government and everyone working together to help, the project is proceeding on a normal track," he said. Noting that the U.S., which imports 20 million metric tons of steel annually, will be able to source high-value specialty steel and low-carbon steel through HPLS, Chung said, "I think there are benefits for both sides—the U.S. and Hyundai Motor Group—and that we can create synergies."
José Muñoz, president of Hyundai Motor, also told reporters, "We want to use HPLS steel in the vehicles we produce in the U.S." He added, "We plan to apply it to all vehicle models, or as many models as possible. We want to localize as much as possible the steel used at our U.S. plants in Alabama and Georgia." Emphasizing that HPLS steel will be produced locally in the U.S. and will be a carbon-reduced product, Muñoz said, "Other automakers are also interested in HPLS steel, and we may be able to produce and supply steel to them as well." He added, "We are actually in discussions with some companies."

[email protected] Eun-hyo Cho[email protected] Eun-hyo Cho Reporter