SK Materials Acquires Management Rights of US Company Holding 'Carbon Capture Patent Technology'

$300 Million Additional Investment
Accelerating Clean Energy Business

Material technology specialist SK Materials Co., Ltd. is acquiring management rights of 8Rivers, a U.S. company possessing innovative carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology.

SK Materials announced on the 7th that at the SK Co., Ltd. board meeting held on the 6th, the agenda to invest $300 million (approximately 390 billion KRW) to secure management rights of 8Rivers was approved.

In March last year, SK Materials invested $100 million in 8Rivers, acquiring a 12% stake. By July, it will make an additional $300 million investment to secure management control. After incorporating 8Rivers as a subsidiary, SK Materials plans to lead the clean energy business in the U.S. market based on 8Rivers’ CCUS technology.

SK Materials Co., Ltd. (above) and 8 Rivers logo [Image provided by SK Materials Co., Ltd.]

8Rivers was established in 2008 in North Carolina, USA. It holds patented technology that produces clean electricity and blue hydrogen with over 99% carbon dioxide capture. It also possesses supercritical carbon dioxide power generation technology that inherently captures carbon dioxide from natural gas and coal without separate facilities. Blue hydrogen can be produced by cooling and liquefying carbon dioxide generated during hydrogen production and then separating it.

Leveraging this acquisition, SK Materials plans to promote clean business centered on the North American market, complete commercialization technology, and then expand into the global stage. It also intends to develop clean energy businesses targeting Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, which have high fossil fuel dependency and abundant carbon dioxide storage capacity.

Lee Yong-wook, President of SK Materials, said, "We will expand cooperation with global companies and strive to accelerate net zero (zero carbon net emissions) worldwide."

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