Kim Jun, SK Innovation Vice Chairman, Accelerates Innovation in Electric Energy and Recycling Business in the US

Keynote Speech at SK Innovation Global Forum in San Jose, USA on the 11th
Focus on Batteries and Nuclear Power... "Continuous Expansion of New Businesses"

Vice Chairman Kim Jun of SK Innovation delivering the keynote speech at the 'SK Inno Global Forum' held on the 11th (local time) in San Jose, California, USA. He introduced the company's direction for building an eco-friendly business portfolio and its commitment to business model innovation. (Photo by SK Inno)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]

"We will focus on electrification, where electricity becomes the center of energy, and waste recycling to compose SK Innovation's business portfolio and accelerate innovation in eco-friendly business."

SK Innovation announced on the 12th that Vice Chairman Kim Jun attended the 'SK Innovation Global Forum' held in San Jose, California, USA, and announced the company's business plan. Vice Chairman Kim said, "We will promote future growth through the development of a differentiated technology-based zero- and low-carbon energy and a circular economy-centered eco-friendly portfolio," adding, "We will build a portfolio focusing on electrification, where electricity is the core of energy, and on recycling of waste and materials."

The forum, held from the previous day to the day of the announcement local time, was attended by key SK Innovation executives including Vice Chairman Kim and SK On President Ji Dongseop. The event, hosted by SK Group since 2012, includes discussions with local industry-academic experts on zero- and low-carbon energy, resource circulation, and next-generation batteries.

SK Innovation owns specialized subsidiaries such as SK On (electric vehicle batteries), SK IET (battery separators), and SK Earthon (resource development and CCS). The company is reviewing additional growth alternatives in line with changes in the global energy mix. It plans to advance its own technologies in electrification and waste/material recycling fields, as well as pursue projects such as equity investments in promising global companies and technology/business collaborations. The company aims to strengthen momentum through a 'global open innovation' system utilizing the research and development (R&D) capabilities and global network of the Daejeon Environmental Science and Technology Institute.

SK Innovation plans to increase cases like the comprehensive business cooperation with TerraPower in the United States, signed last month together with SK Inc. TerraPower is a next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) company founded in 2008 by Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft. Vice Chairman Kim said, "To expand the eco-friendly portfolio, we are focusing on next-generation growth areas such as nuclear power and electric vehicle batteries and materials in the electrification sector," adding, "We will continue to discover new growth engines in the circular economy sector, including recycling of used batteries and utilization of waste resources."

Vice Chairman Kim serves as the chairman of the Environmental Business Committee of the SUPEX Council, the highest decision-making body for group management. He is a key figure who works to create synergy among SK Innovation and group affiliates regarding environmental business and seeks joint investment opportunities. SK Innovation believes that with him leading carbon reduction-related businesses directly, the pace of change and growth will inevitably accelerate. SK Innovation has announced its goal to achieve greenhouse gas 'net zero (carbon neutrality)' before 2050, meaning it will make net greenhouse gas emissions '0' as a core strategy of eco-friendly management.

An SK Innovation official said, "The forum was held to expand insights and human resources in various fields to discover future new growth engines," adding, "We will continue to hold forums to strongly implement SK Innovation's 'Carbon to Green' strategy."

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