SK Inno Showcases Future Eco-Friendly Technologies Contributing to Carbon Reduction at CES

Exhibition Slogan: 'A Carbon-Free Life, Your Partner Walking the Path Together, SK'

Images of SK Group's CES 2022 exhibition booths, including SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] SK Innovation will participate in 'CES 2022' held in Las Vegas, USA, from the 5th to the 7th of this month (local time), unveiling future eco-friendly innovative technologies such as electric vehicle batteries that can contribute to reducing 11 million tons of carbon annually starting from 2030.

On the 2nd, SK Innovation announced that at CES 2022, under the slogan 'A carbon-free life, your companion walking the path with you, SK,' it will introduce innovative technologies to achieve the company's 'Carbon to Green' strategy.

SK Innovation's carbon reduction contribution target is 11 million tons annually by 2030. Specifically, it includes ▲battery and separator business 4.17 million tons ▲battery recycling and BaaS (Battery as a Service) business 1.36 million tons ▲waste plastic recycling business 5 million tons ▲carbon capture and storage (CCS) business 0.5 million tons ▲lubricants for electric vehicles business 10,000 tons.

Considering that one Korean citizen emitted about 12.5 tons of carbon in 2020, SK Innovation's eco-friendly technologies could reduce the carbon emissions of 880,000 citizens to zero annually by 2030. This accounts for nearly 2% of South Korea's total population (50 million).

SK Innovation will showcase its battery business, the core of its decarbonization strategy, at the front of the exhibition hall. The flagship product 'NCM9' is a high-performance lithium-ion battery with about 90% nickel (N) content among nickel (N), cobalt (C), and manganese (M), the main raw materials. While batteries with high nickel content offer excellent performance, they tend to be unstable. SK On developed NCM9 in 2019 as the world's first with outstanding safety technology. NCM9 will be installed in Ford's pickup truck 'F-150 Lightning' launching this year. This product won two innovation awards at CES 2022.

SK On NCM9 Battery to be Installed in Ford Pickup Electric Truck F-150 Lightning

SK IE Technology, a materials business company and the number one player in the wet separator market, will also present its lithium-ion battery separators. Separators are film-type materials that block the battery's cathode and anode to prevent fires while allowing ions to pass through thin, uniform pores. The key is to make them strong yet thin.

SK Innovation will also reveal technologies and solutions that achieve resource circulation such as battery recycling. The battery recycling business extracts key minerals from spent batteries. The extracted metals can be reused as raw materials for battery manufacturing. SK Innovation developed the world's first technology to extract lithium hydroxide from waste batteries and plans to commercialize it by 2025. Extracting lithium hydroxide from waste batteries can reduce carbon emissions by about 40-70% compared to mining lithium from mines or salt lakes.

SK On's AI-based battery analysis solution monitors battery status and predicts remaining life. This solution forms the foundation of various BaaS business models that reuse and recycle discarded batteries.

SK Innovation will also undertake significant carbon reduction in its existing refining and chemical businesses. Chemical subsidiary SK Geo Centric plans to build facilities capable of processing 2.5 million tons of waste plastic annually by 2027 using three major technologies: depolymerization, pyrolysis, and high-purity polypropylene extraction.

SK Innovation will exhibit electric vehicle lubricants from its lubricants subsidiary SK Lubricants. This product reduces wear on electric vehicle motors and gearboxes and improves efficiency, extending driving range. Kim Jun, Vice Chairman of SK Innovation attending CES 2022, said, "We will surely achieve the Carbon to Green strategy and transform into a company that solves the global warming issue, our era's mission."

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