SK Ecoplant X Amazon, AI Solution Development for Incinerators Reducing Pollutant Emissions

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] SK ecoplant announced on the 8th that it is developing an eco-friendly 'Incinerator Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solution' in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to improve the operational efficiency of waste incinerators and reduce pollutant emissions.

SK ecoplant began technology development in April and plans to apply it to its subsidiary Environmental Facility Management (formerly EMC Holdings) in September after testing. Environmental Facility Management is the largest environmental company in Korea with outstanding capabilities in incinerator operation, and plans to apply this technology on-site by reflecting its existing operational know-how. The incinerator AI solution is implemented with advanced cloud functions through Amazon SageMaker service, which supports rapid building, training, and deployment of machine learning models.

Existing incinerator facilities have relied on human physical experience for operation, making pollutant emission management difficult. The AI solution under development analyzes and predicts data collected from CCTV, sensors, and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) using AI algorithms, and provides drivers with guidance on optimal incinerator operation methods.

Through this, it is expected to increase incinerator operational efficiency and reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) generated during the incineration process by 2 tons each annually. This is equivalent to reducing the amount of nitrogen oxides emitted by 950 gasoline passenger cars and carbon monoxide emitted by 160 cars per year.

The solution also includes a function to detect equipment failures in incinerators in advance. By analyzing data such as current and vibration of incineration facilities, it can detect abnormal operations early or implement optimal maintenance plans to reduce maintenance costs and increase productivity. As maintenance frequency decreases, it is also expected to minimize waste generated during maintenance processes.

After developing the AI solution, SK ecoplant plans to provide services to domestic and international incinerator operators through the AWS Marketplace, a digital store offering thousands of software products. Through this, it aims to explore global market entry and continue building an eco-friendly business ecosystem.

Jae-yeon Cho, Head of SK ecoplant DT Group, said, "With the development of this eco-friendly incinerator AI solution, we expect to solve problems in the incinerator business that could not be addressed due to lack of technology and investment capabilities." He added, "Through digital innovation services, we plan to make the waste treatment process more eco-friendly and continuously strive to achieve Net Zero and strengthen ESG management."

Won-ki Kim, CEO of Environmental Facility Management, stated, "We judged that the potential market impact of the eco-friendly incinerator AI solution is significant, so we made an investment to apply it to four existing operating incinerators." He added, "Through active utilization of the solution in the future, we plan to secure market-leading capabilities as an eco-friendly specialized company and establish a stepping stone for incinerator operation cases attracting global market attention."

Ki-ho Ham, CEO of AWS Korea, said, "SK ecoplant plans to create digital solutions for sustainable incinerators by utilizing the most extensive and in-depth cloud functions." He added, "We are honored that AWS is joining SK ecoplant on its journey to create a global eco-friendly waste management market using AWS."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.