SK Inno Subsidiary SKTI Invests in US Infinium Producing Fuel from Captured Carbon

SKTI's First Investment in Next-Generation Green Energy
Contributing to Greenhouse Gas Reduction through Carbon Dioxide Capture and Offset
"Committed to Commercializing and Expanding Supply of Next-Generation Green Energy"

On the 30th of last month, at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during an investment agreement ceremony for Infinium held in the form of a video conference by SK Trading International (SKTI), Seo Seok-won, President of SKTI (left), and Noh Sang-gu, Head of Strategy and Operations at SK Energy, are holding up the investment agreement document with Robert Sch?tze, CEO of Infinium (appearing on TV). Photo by SK Innovation

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seoyoon] SK Innovation announced on the 12th that its crude oil and petroleum products trading subsidiary, SK Trading International (hereinafter SKTI), is investing in Infinium, a U.S.-based specialized technology company in electricity-based fuel (e-fuel). However, the investment amount was not disclosed.

According to SK Innovation, Infinium, established in 2020 in Sacramento, California, is a company possessing liquid fuel synthesis process technology. Based on Gas to Liquid technology, it synthesizes hydrogen with carbon dioxide, utilizing catalytic technology accumulated over 15 years, and is regarded as having the fastest commercialization speed in this field. It plans to start its first commercial production in Texas early next year and continuously expand its scale.

E-fuel uses green electricity with zero or very low carbon emissions, such as renewable energy, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, then combines and processes the hydrogen with carbon dioxide to produce gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and more. By capturing carbon dioxide from industrial processes or the atmosphere to produce e-fuel, it achieves the dual benefit of reducing carbon emissions while obtaining fuel. This is why e-fuel is considered a core technology for next-generation carbon reduction.

In particular, e-fuel is gaining attention as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) that can replace existing petroleum in the aviation transport sector, where replacing liquid fuels is difficult. Among next-generation aviation fuels, commercialized biofuels face limitations in raw material supply, but e-fuel, which uses water and carbon dioxide as raw materials, has no obstacles in securing raw materials.

The European Union (EU) plans to mandate the use of e-fuel in aviation fuel, increasing the usage ratio from 0.7% in 2030 to 28% by 2050. The industry expects the e-fuel market size to grow from 130,000 barrels per day in 2030 to 2 million barrels per day by 2050. Therefore, the carbon dioxide emissions of e-fuel-based fuels made with Infinium’s technology are much lower than those of conventional petroleum-based fuels, considering the carbon dioxide captured and reduced during e-fuel production.

SKTI expects this investment, as its first in the next-generation green energy sector, to contribute to the execution of SK Innovation Group’s ‘Carbon to Green’ strategy announced last year. SKTI expects this investment, as its first in the next-generation green energy sector, to contribute to the execution of SK Innovation Group’s ‘Carbon to Green’ strategy announced last year.

As Korea’s only specialized petroleum products trading company, SKTI plans to actively pursue securing and distributing e-fuel, and is also considering early commercialization by integrating with SK Energy’s large-scale petroleum refining facility, SK Ulsan Complex (CLX).

Seokwon Seo, President of SKTI, said, “This investment in Infinium has expanded opportunities to supply green energy for achieving net zero,” and added, “We will do our best to commercialize and distribute e-fuel.”

Robert Schuetzle, CEO of Infinium, said, “We welcome SK’s investment and appreciate the trust placed in Infinium,” and added, “We will strive to expand Infinium’s e-fuel production for the global market.”

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