SK Explores 'Eco-Friendly Business' with Malaysia's Top Energy Company

SK Materials, SK Ecoplant, and SK Signet
Business Collaboration with Petronas' Eco-Friendly Subsidiary
Combining SK's Technology with Petronas' Business Infrastructure
Accelerating SK's Entry into Southeast Asia's Eco-Friendly Market

Chairman Chey Tae-won of SK Group. Photo by SK Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] SK is partnering with Petronas, Malaysia's top state-owned energy company, to collaborate on eco-friendly business initiatives. Following equity investments in green companies in Vietnam and Singapore, SK is accelerating its entry into the Southeast Asian green business market.

On the 5th, SK announced that SK Materials, SK Ecoplant, SK Signet, and Petronas’s green business subsidiary Gentari recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for comprehensive cooperation in the eco-friendly sector.

Through this agreement, SK and Gentari will jointly identify business projects and explore various cooperation opportunities in areas such as hydrogen, fuel cells, and electric vehicle charging.

Specifically, SK Materials will utilize the technology of 8 Rivers, a U.S. company it invested in earlier this year, to produce blue hydrogen and ammonia, and will promote CCS (carbon capture and storage) projects for carbon dioxide storage. SK Ecoplant will be responsible for eco-friendly power generation based on SOFC (solid oxide fuel cells) and power supply projects for data centers. SK Signet, a subsidiary of SK Corporation and the world’s second-largest manufacturer and operator of electric vehicle chargers, will explore cooperative models in electric vehicle charging solutions and Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) businesses. Each company plans to review cooperation methods such as business feasibility by the end of this year and then finalize commercialization plans.

Lee Yong-wook, President of SK Materials, stated, “The eco-friendly business cooperation between SK and Petronas is a meaningful step to jointly address the global climate crisis. We will harmoniously integrate the technologies and business capabilities of both companies and work closely to secure future eco-friendly energy technologies.”

Petronas, established in 1974, is Malaysia’s largest state-owned energy company. It operates in over 50 countries worldwide, developing and producing oil and gas. After declaring a net zero goal for 2050 together with the Malaysian government last year, Petronas established its green business subsidiary Gentari and is actively investing in eco-friendly initiatives such as hydrogen projects and building an electric vehicle ecosystem.

SK has set a challenging goal to achieve net zero ahead of the global carbon neutrality target year of 2050 and is significantly strengthening its eco-friendly business. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won declared at the CEO seminar in October last year and at the Trans-Pacific Dialogue held in the U.S. in December that “SK will contribute to reducing 200 million tons of carbon, which is 1% of the global carbon reduction target of 21 billion tons by 2030.”

SK expects that leveraging its technologies and capabilities in hydrogen and electric vehicle ecosystems in cooperation with Petronas will create significant synergy. In particular, it anticipates that Petronas’s production and distribution infrastructure as a global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) company will enable commercialization in hydrogen production and supply, as well as installation of electric vehicle chargers at gas stations.

An SK official said, “This MOU signifies that SK is expanding its eco-friendly business in the Southeast Asian market, a strategic overseas partnership hub, beyond simple investments.”

Earlier this year, SK Ecoplant partnered with Vietnam’s solar power specialist Nami Solar to trade carbon emission credits secured through local solar power generation in Korea, and acquired TES, a Singapore-based e-waste (electrical and electronic waste) company. In May, it also acquired a 30% stake in Cenviro, Malaysia’s largest comprehensive environmental company.

Previously, SK Nexilis, which manufactures copper foil?a key material for electric vehicle batteries?selected Malaysia as its first overseas factory location and is investing 650 billion KRW to build a copper foil plant with an annual production capacity of 44,000 tons.

In December last year, Chairman Chey Tae-won signed an MOU with Vietnamese government officials, including National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, during his visit to Korea to promote comprehensive cooperation in eco-friendly business areas for net zero.

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