LG Energy Solution joins RE100, EV100 as industry’s first

LG Energy Solution, South Korea’s leading battery maker, has marked the industry’s first case of joining both RE100 and EV100, the two global campaigns addressing climate change and clean energy, officials said Friday.

Abbreviated for Renewable Electricity 100%, RE100 is an international campaign launched by nonprofit organization the Climate Group in partnership with Carbon Disclosure Project in 2014.

The campaign aims to have businesses that consume more than 100GWh a year switch 100 percent of their electricity use to renewable energy like wind and solar power by 2050.

LG ES is the 300th participant in the campaign, joining global firms including Google, Apple, and GM. It is also the first among Korea’s top three battery makers to make the move.

The company has proposed a more ambitious goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy use by 2030, cutting the deadline by 20 years.

“The company’s plants in Poland and the US are already powered 100 percent on renewable energy, and plans to convert electricity at its Korea and China facilities to renewable energy by 2030,” it said.

The company also became the world’s first battery firm and the first among Korean companies to take part in EV100, officials added.

EV100, also launched by the Climate Group, aims to covert 100 percent of vehicles of less than 3.5 tons owned or leased by corporations to electric vehicles by 2030. It also seeks to turn 50 percent of vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tons into EVs.

So far, 96 companies including HP, DHL and Ikea have joined EV100.

“Battery is the core project that should play a central role in achieving carbon neutrality,” said Kim Jong-hyun, chief executive officer of LG Energy Solution. “As a leading eco-friendly business, LG will set an example in cutting carbon emissions through battery production and promote expansion of EVs.”

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)