Dangjin , South Korea ( CNN ) -- Steelmakers are known to be one of the worst polluters in manufacturing , but South Korea 's newest plant claims it is designed to go green . Hyundai Steel 's Dangjin plant , which sits an hour and a half south of Seoul on the west coast , is the youngest steel plant in the world and has adopted new technologies to ensure it stand out from others . By simply enclosing storage and transport routes for raw material , they are able to prevent dust particles from entering the surrounding areas . The facility , which includes 35 kilometers ( 21 miles ) of conveyor belts fully enclosed and state-of-the-art storage domes , cost Hyundai Steel roughly $ 5.5 billion to build . The two blast furnaces produce eight million tons of steel a year . It is no small investment , but the steelmaker believes it will earn its way back in no time . `` With the encapsulated storage system , we minimize loss of raw material so that may be $ 20 million a year ( that we are saving ) , '' said Hyundai Steel 's senior executive vice president Cho Won-suk . Other steelmakers lose roughly 0.5 % in raw materials annually by keeping them in the open , subjecting the material to rain and wind , according to Hyundai . The idea is simple but conventional players elsewhere see it as a large investment that would require a new layout for the steel plant . Hyundai 's Dangjin plant , which blew in its blast furnace at the beginning of last year , was designed to accommodate the green system from the beginning . Dangjin also boasts its recycling byproducts emitted during the process of burning and melting raw materials . The company says it recycles 100 % of its byproducts which supplies 80 % of the operation energy at the plant . `` The byproduct gas contains energy and has some value . For example , it contains carbon monoxide , hydrogen and methane , so the byproduct gas can be utilized for heating up furnaces in the plant , '' vice president Cho said . To make sure Hyundai is meeting its standards as a green steelmaker , it monitors its emission output around the clock which is not only reported to the government but is also open to the public . The steelmaker keeps its pollution levels below half of the government 's regulations , according to Hyundai 's technical research center manager , Park Eung-yeul . Its tight relationship with its sister companies , Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Construction , is also enhancing its efforts to become more green . Not only does Hyundai Steel supply car parts to Hyundai Motor , the old cars at the end of their cycle come back to the steelmaker as scrap metal to be melted down and used once again . The rougher steel produced from scrap metal can then be used at construction sites . Despite these efforts , tackling CO2 emissions remains an ongoing challenge . But the company 's dedicated task force team continue the drive towards producing environmentally-friendly energy and removing the obstacles in the way of even cleaner steel production .
Hyundai is reducing emissions at its steel plant in Dangjin , South Korea . Facility which includes 35 kilometers of conveyor belts cost around $ 5.5 billion to build . Plant has changed its storage and transport routes to limit dust in surrounding area . Company says it burns all of its byproducts and reduces its emissions 24 hours a day .