Launches Dedicated Brand 'SOLU' Unveils 25 Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Products Colors and Patterns Customized to Building Design Targets Housing Market Through Existing Client Network
Hyundai L&C, a building materials maker under the Hyundai Department Store (069960) group, is entering the solar building materials market. With demand for eco-friendly construction materials rising as the government tightens its zero-energy building certification standards, the company aims to secure a new growth driver by creating synergy with its existing window and engineered stone businesses.
Hyundai L&C said on Nov. 12 that it has launched SOLU, a brand dedicated to solar building materials, and begun sales. Its first product line, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), combines power generation with exterior cladding installed on building facades. The system generates electricity using the building's outer walls, eliminating the need for separate space to mount solar panels.
SOLU comprises 25 products in total: 20 single-color options including gray, beige and green, and five design versions that replicate textures such as marble, granite and wood. Colors and patterns can be customized to suit a building's characteristics, and panels can be made to order in sizes ranging from 0.1 meters by 0.1 meters to 3 meters by 2 meters.
The color versions use a ceramic nano-deposition technology that applies a thin ceramic film to improve generation efficiency. According to Hyundai L&C, the color products convert 20% of sunlight into electricity, 4 percentage points higher than the 16% of conventional glass-type BIPV. For the encapsulant that shields the solar materials from moisture and impact, the company uses polyvinyl butyral (PVB), the same material found in automotive laminated glass and safety glass for high-rise buildings, to strengthen durability.
Hyundai L&C also plans to run a "total solar solution" service covering product supply, installation and after-sales care. Under the approach, the company recommends solar products needed for zero-energy building certification based on a structure's size and design, then takes responsibility for installation as well.
The company will first target the housing market, drawing on the network of builders and redevelopment and reconstruction association members it has built through its window and engineered stone businesses. It then plans to expand its customer base to offices, commercial facilities and public institutions. The product lineup will also broaden from BIPV to rooftop solar panels, solar noise barriers for roads and rooftop solar waterproofing sheets.
"Zero-energy building standards have been tightened for private apartment complexes as well, but there are limits to meeting those standards with rooftop solar panels alone," said Yang Jin-young, head of Hyundai L&C's BIPV task force. "Based on the installation expertise we have accumulated in premium building materials such as windows and engineered stone, we will aggressively pursue the solar building materials market."
"We are continuously expanding our product portfolio in line with government policy and architectural trends," said Lee Dong-seob, executive director and head of Hyundai L&C's window business division. "By adding solar cladding to our existing building materials business, we will grow into a global building materials company covering the full range of construction materials."
Original reporting by Ryu Seok for Seoul Economic Daily.
AI-translated from Korean. Quotes from foreign sources are based on Korean-language reports and may not reflect exact original wording.
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