SK PIC Global Expands Eco-Friendly Chemical Business with UK Chemical Company INEOS

INEOS and Eco-friendly SM Business Joint Promotion Agreement
Following HPPO, Eco-friendly SM Bottle Manufacturing Method Also Initiated

On the 7th, SK PIC Global signed an agreement with INEOS Styrolution to jointly promote a renewable eco-friendly styrene monomer (SM) business. Won Gi-don, CEO of SK PIC Global (right), and Arnt Kotitzka, Vice President of INEOS Styrolution, are holding up the agreement. Photo by SKC

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jung] SK PIC Global, the chemical business investment arm of SKC, announced on the 8th that it will expand its eco-friendly chemical materials business in collaboration with global chemical company INEOS.

On the afternoon of the previous day in Seoul, SK PIC Global signed an agreement with INEOS Styrolution to jointly promote a renewable eco-friendly styrene monomer (SM) business. The signing ceremony was attended by key representatives from both companies, including Won Gidon, CEO of SK PIC Global, and Arnt Kotitzka, Vice President of INEOS Styrolution. INEOS Styrolution is a styrene business subsidiary of INEOS, a global chemical company headquartered in the UK.

SM is a chemical product co-produced to manufacture propylene oxide (PO), the raw material for the high-value-added propylene glycol (PG). SK PIC Global produces PO using both the PO-SM co-production process and the eco-friendly HPPO process, which was commercialized for the first time in the world in 2008 and generates only water (H2O) as a byproduct. This agreement is part of efforts to redesign the PO-SM co-production process to be more environmentally friendly.

Through this agreement, the two companies will build an ecosystem for the production and utilization of eco-friendly SM. SK PIC Global will produce SM using materials derived from eco-friendly raw materials such as bio-based feedstocks and pyrolysis oil from waste plastics. INEOS Styrolution will use the eco-friendly SM supplied by SK PIC Global to produce products including ABS.

With this agreement, SK PIC Global and INEOS will establish a chemical product production system with enhanced eco-friendliness. Both companies plan to obtain the global eco-friendly material certification 'ISCC PLUS' within this year and will officially start producing and utilizing eco-friendly SM from next year.

A representative from SK PIC Global said, "More and more customers are demanding ESG management across products and supply chains," adding, "Through the eco-friendly SM business in cooperation with INEOS Styrolution, we will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to achieving '2040 Greenhouse Gas Net Zero (Carbon Neutrality)."

A representative from INEOS Styrolution stated, "Our goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 million tons and sell 500,000 tons of eco-friendly products by 2030," and added, "This agreement with SK PIC Global will help us keep our promise for a sustainable future."

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