Korea Zinc secures 20 years of green energy to cut domestic carbon emissions

Korea Zinc has secured a 20-year supply of renewable energy from domestic solar power plants, a move the company says will cut carbon emissions and reduce electricity costs. The metals producer, which already draws heavily on clean energy at its overseas operations, plans to steadily expand its renewable energy use at home as part of its carbon neutrality drive.

Korea Zinc announced Tuesday it had signed a strategic partnership and a power purchase agreement with Hanwha Shinhan TW Hour to receive 11 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy annually from solar plants operating in Gangwon Province, Gyeonggi Province and North Gyeongsang Province.

Hanwha Shinhan TW Hour was established in September 2023 by Hanwha Energy and Shinhan Financial Group to facilitate renewable energy trading. Korea Zinc acquired a 33.3 percent stake in the company last year. Hanwha Shinhan TW Hour analyzes the power supply and demand of client facilities, builds self-consumption generation infrastructure and proposes optimal solutions including direct PPAs.

Supply under the agreement begins in December and runs for 20 years. The price will remain fixed throughout the contract period, and Korea Zinc expects medium- to long-term cost savings given anticipated trends in industrial electricity tariffs.

The deal will allow Korea Zinc to cut its annual carbon emissions by about 4,200 metric tons — the equivalent of yearly emissions from roughly 2,100 passenger vehicles.

"This agreement allows us to secure a stable, long-term supply of renewable energy not only in Australia but also domestically," a Korea Zinc official said. "We will lead the realization of carbon neutrality by advancing our renewable energy procurement and operational capabilities and consistently expanding our renewable energy use at home and abroad."

Korea Zinc has been diversifying its clean energy portfolio across solar, wind and green hydrogen both in Korea and overseas.

A flagship example is a 124-megawatt solar plant the company completed in Australia in 2018, which supplies renewable energy to its Sun Metals smelter there. The plant generates about 261 GWh annually, covering roughly 25 percent of the smelter's total power consumption. Additional PPAs have since brought the renewable energy share at Sun Metals to about 50 percent.

In 2024, Korea Zinc invested in the MacIntyre wind farm in Australia, securing a 30 percent stake. Once the wind farm reaches full commercial operation, the renewable energy share at Sun Metals is expected to rise further.

This year, the company plans to begin operating Sun HQ, a green hydrogen production and fueling facility in Australia, using renewable energy to produce green hydrogen for hydrogen mobility applications. At its Onsan smelter, Korea Zinc has installed the first hydrogen refueling station for hydrogen forklifts in a Korean national industrial complex, introducing hydrogen-powered forklifts to help reduce carbon emissions.

"We plan to accelerate carbon reduction by building a diverse energy portfolio spanning solar, wind and green hydrogen, in addition to renewable power purchases," the official said. "Over the medium to long term, we will continue pursuing the renewable energy transition at the Onsan smelter, including exploring the conversion of green hydrogen produced in Australia into green ammonia for domestic use."