SK Geocentric Expands Plastic Recycling Business to Ulsan, France, and China

Joint Venture Agreement to Establish Recycling Plant with US Company
Cooperation with Haier on Recycling Business for Waste Appliances and More

Na Kyung-su, CEO of SK Geocentric (left), is taking a commemorative photo on the 26th at the SK Green Campus in Jongno-gu, Seoul, during the signing ceremony of the joint venture with Dustin Olson, CEO of PureCycle Technologies, via video conference.

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] SK Innovation's subsidiary SK Geocentric is expanding its plastic recycling business to France and China following the establishment of the world's first plastic recycling complex in Ulsan.

On the 27th, SK Geocentric announced that it had signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) with the US company PureCycle Technologies to establish a polypropylene (PP) chemical recycling production plant in Ulsan. The signing ceremony, held via video conference, was attended by Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geocentric, and Dustin Olson, President of PureCycle Technologies, among others.

Both companies plan to invest 50:50 in the joint venture, with the plant scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2025.

SK Geocentric will be responsible for overall operations including market development, strategic planning, marketing, sales, and process management, while PureCycle will provide technology related to extracting ultra-pure recycled PP.

PP is mainly used in food packaging containers, automotive interiors, and home appliances, but conventional physical recycling methods have difficulty removing odors and impurities, leading most PP to be incinerated or landfilled. PureCycle uniquely holds chemical recycling technology that extracts ultra-pure recycled PP by removing contaminants, odors, and colors from waste plastics.

This joint venture will mark the start of Asia's first commercial production of chemically recycled PP. SK Geocentric holds exclusive domestic sales rights for the next 10 years and has also secured exclusive sales rights in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geocentric (left), is taking a commemorative photo after signing a business cooperation agreement (MOU) for recycling business with Haier Appliances executives via video conference at SK Green Campus in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 26th.

Additionally, SK Geocentric signed a memorandum of understanding with Haier, China's largest home appliance company, to collaborate on recycling PP and other waste plastics. The two companies will secure plastics such as PP from discarded home appliances and cooperate in developing recycled plastic products.

Demand for recycled PP in China is expected to grow by 8% annually until 2027. Currently, the amount of recycled polypropylene (PP) collected in China is about 3.4 million tons, approximately 11% of the production volume of 30.34 million tons.

The scope of cooperation will be gradually expanded to include automotive and consumer packaging materials, strengthening the recognition of recycling business within China. The companies are also considering establishing a joint venture in China through phased collaboration.

In June, SK Geocentric signed a business agreement with French environmental specialist Suez and Canadian plastic recycling technology company Loop Industries to establish a joint venture for plastic recycling in France, marking continuous achievements in global market expansion.

CEO Na said, "We will continue to strive to enable Korean companies to lead the global plastic recycling market," adding, "We will do our best to reduce plastics incinerated or landfilled and contribute to carbon reduction."

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