SK Innovation invests in US 'Fulcrum BioEnergy'... Secures next-generation waste gasification technology

260 Billion KRW Equity Investment in Pelkeureom
Reviewing Entry into Asian Market for Waste Gasification Business

Image of share acquisition of Pelkrum Corporation. Photo by SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] SK Innovation is set to secure next-generation 'waste gasification' technology to lead the waste-to-energy market. This move aims to accelerate the development of a green portfolio focused on future energy and the circular economy.

On the 13th, SK Innovation announced it will invest $20 million (approximately 26 billion KRW) in the U.S. company Fulcrum BioEnergy (hereafter Fulcrum), which produces synthetic crude oil by gasifying municipal solid waste. Previously, at the end of last year, SK Inc. also co-invested $50 million (approximately 60 billion KRW) in Fulcrum alongside domestic private equity funds from an eco-friendly ESG investment perspective.

With this equity investment, SK Innovation plans to collaborate with Fulcrum to explore entry into the Asian market for waste gasification business. Since Fulcrum is a company producing bioenergy through municipal solid waste gasification in the U.S., SK Innovation intends to focus on developing and securing next-generation technology for waste gasification through business and technical cooperation. This expands new growth engines in the circular economy sector that recycles waste resources.

Waste gasification is a technology that converts waste into fuel. By injecting oxygen and decomposing waste under high temperature and high pressure, it produces synthesis gas mainly composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Compared to incineration, it emits fewer harmful substances and has the advantage of selectively producing high value-added products such as synthetic crude oil, methanol, and hydrogen from the converted synthesis gas. In terms of raw material supply, all combustible waste such as paper and wood can be used. As the waste-to-energy market is expected to grow, waste gasification technology, one of the waste treatment processes, is anticipated to play an important role.

According to the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), global waste generation was estimated at 2.1 billion tons in 2020 and is projected to reach 2.3 billion tons by 2030, with 1.2 billion tons being illegally dumped annually worldwide. This means that on average, each person worldwide illegally disposes of 0.41 kg of waste per day. Since waste treatment through incineration and landfill causes issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and landfill shortages, the waste-to-energy market is expected to sustain growth in the mid to long term.

SK Innovation is developing an eco-friendly portfolio centered on future energy and the circular economy with the goal of achieving net zero by 2050. In May, together with SK Inc., it signed a comprehensive business cooperation agreement with TerraPower, a U.S. next-generation small modular reactor (SMR) company, and last month invested in Amogy, a U.S. company specializing in ammonia-based fuel cell systems.

An SK Innovation official stated, "SK Innovation will focus on its role as a holding company specializing in green portfolio development and will promote future growth through the development of an eco-friendly portfolio centered on the circular economy and carbon-free/low-carbon energy."

Meanwhile, Fulcrum is the first company in the U.S. to commercialize the process of producing synthetic crude oil from municipal solid waste. It has integrated external technologies from waste collection to gasification and synthetic crude oil production to implement an optimal process. In July last year, Fulcrum completed the world's first municipal solid waste-based synthetic crude oil production plant in Nevada with an annual capacity of about 40,000 tons and began plant operations at the end of May. It plans to produce bio-jet fuel in the future as well.

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