SK Materials Invests 123.1 Billion KRW in US Carbon Neutrality Leader 8 Rivers

SK Materials Holds Next-Generation Carbon Capture Technology
Invests $100 Million in US 8 Rivers
Utilizes Clean Electricity and Blue Hydrogen Production Technology
Leaps Forward as a Global Net Zero Leading Company

Kamhosi 8Revers CEO (left) and Lee Yong-wook, President of SK Materials, are shaking hands after signing a $100 million (approximately 120 billion KRW) investment agreement.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] SK Materials Co., Ltd., a materials investment specialist company, announced on the 8th that it will invest $100 million (approximately 123.1 billion KRW) in 8 Rivers, a company possessing next-generation Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technology, at the global energy conference "CERAWeek" held in Houston, USA.

Through this investment, SK Materials will acquire exclusive business rights in Korea and the Asian region for the next-generation CCUS technology owned by 8 Rivers. It will also gain priority participation rights in global projects and new technology development. After the investment, SK Materials' stake in 8 Rivers will be approximately 12%.

To achieve the global net zero (carbon neutrality) goal targeted for 2050, worldwide efforts require reductions in the electricity generation sector, which accounts for the highest proportion of carbon dioxide emissions. Clean electricity and hydrogen fuel are essential for this.

Founded in 2008 in North Carolina, USA, 8 Rivers possesses supercritical carbon dioxide power generation technology that intrinsically captures carbon dioxide without separate facilities. Supercritical refers to a state at specific temperature and pressure conditions (critical point) where the boundary between liquid and gas disappears, exhibiting properties of both liquid and gas, allowing easy expansion and movement with low friction. Applying this to power generation technology increases efficiency because the density is high and volume decreases for the same mass.

Additionally, 8 Rivers holds innovative patented carbon dioxide reduction technologies independently developed in both clean electricity and hydrogen fuel fields, such as blue hydrogen production technology that cools and separates carbon dioxide at low temperatures during hydrogen production.

Renewable energy sources like solar and wind power have limitations in replacing base load power, and existing fossil fuel-based power generation technologies require separate CO2 capture facilities, which involve high costs and large land areas.

8 Rivers' technology enables clean electricity production by supercritical CO2 driving the power turbine and separating additional CO2 generated during fuel combustion without separate capture facilities. Utilizing this allows relatively low investment costs, high power generation efficiency, and reduced atmospheric pollutant emissions.

Moreover, 8 Rivers possesses technology to liquefy and separate carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production to economically produce blue hydrogen. This technology is expected to achieve up to 99% carbon dioxide capture rate, enabling economical and efficient hydrogen production.

SK Materials plans to proceed with business by leveraging global cooperation on 8 Rivers' technology and exclusive business rights in Asia. Initially, it will establish joint ventures (JV) with 8 Rivers in Asian regions such as China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where fossil fuel dependence is high and abundant CO2 storage space exists, to promote clean energy business. In Korea, economic feasibility is expected through simultaneous sales of blue hydrogen and clean electricity by constructing plants applying 8 Rivers' technology.

Bill Brown, founder of 8 Rivers, said, "Many potential investors approached us, but SK was the first partner to share our vision and understand the entire ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) system," adding, "Together with SK, we will lead the global net zero companies by introducing and expanding various carbon dioxide reduction technologies such as CCUS, contributing to global carbon reduction."

Meanwhile, at the "2021 CEO Seminar" held last October, SK emphasized its goal to contribute to reducing 200 million tons of carbon, which is 1% of the global carbon reduction target of 21 billion tons by 2030, and to achieve "carbon footprint zero," where cumulative emissions and reductions offset around 2035.

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