(Photo= Yonhap news)

 

[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Hyundai Motor Group's new electric vehicle (EV) plant, the "Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America" (HMGMA) in Georgia, USA, which is being built with an investment exceeding 10 trillion KRW, has encountered an unexpected challenge as it nears operation: a reassessment of its environmental permit.

According to industry sources and foreign media reports on the 27th, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent a letter on August 23rd to Georgia state authorities and local economic development agencies, informing them that the environmental permit granted to Hyundai Motor Group in 2022 would be re-evaluated. The Corps, which is involved in strategic resource permits in the U.S., including water resources, along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pointed out that Hyundai had requested to withdraw 25 million liters of water per day from the local aquifer, a source of drinking water for residents, for industrial use. However, this was not mentioned by Georgia authorities and economic development agencies at the time of the permit. The Corps stated that their initial decision that the project would have minimal impact on local and individual water supplies was based on information provided by the developers and now requires reassessment.

Hyundai Motor Group has been constructing the HMGMA in Bryan County, Georgia, with a total investment of $7.6 billion since 2022, aiming for an operational start in October this year. The plant is expected to create around 8,000 jobs once it begins operations.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Group and SK On are building a battery plant in Georgia with an annual capacity of 35 GWh. The new plant will produce the Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9, the upcoming Genesis GV90, and hybrid vehicles, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units, expandable to 500,000.

Hyundai's EVs currently do not qualify for the up to $7,500 tax credit under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). However, EVs produced at the HMGMA plant are expected to be eligible, which has driven Hyundai to expedite the plant's operation. The reassessment of the environmental permit introduces an unexpected complication to this timeline.

 

 

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