DS Danseok Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for HVO Raw Material Refining Plant with Annual Capacity of 300,000 Tons

Global resource circulation leading company ‘DS Danseok’ (CEOs Seungwook Han and Jongwan Kim) held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 2nd generation biodiesel HVO raw material refining plant at Pyeongtaek Plant 1.

The ceremony, held on the 13th, was attended by about 70 people including Chairman Seungwook Han, Vice President Jongwan Kim, and employees from the Siwha headquarters and Pyeongtaek. The event proceeded in order with a progress report by Vice President Junghyun Lee of Pyeongtaek Plant 1, followed by the groundbreaking ceremony and a safety prayer ritual.

The HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) raw material refining plant will be constructed by demolishing and expanding the existing office building within Pyeongtaek Plant 1, with a total investment of approximately 35.7 billion KRW. The plant is scheduled to be completed by July next year and to begin pilot production in August. Through this expansion, the annual capacity of pretreated raw materials is expected to reach about 300,000 tons.

The HVO raw material refining plant will operate alongside the existing biodiesel plant at Pyeongtaek Plant 1, and is expected to create synergistic effects such as ▲reduction in manufacturing costs ▲decrease in construction expenses ▲ease of obtaining permits.

The reason DS Danseok is expanding the HVO raw material refining plant is attributed to the ongoing generational shift in biodiesel.

The existing 1st generation biodiesel (methanol catalyst: FAME) primarily uses vegetable oils and recycled oils as raw materials, is highly sensitive to raw material quality, and has lower quality compared to regular diesel. In contrast, the 2nd generation biodiesel (hydrogen catalyst: HVO) can expand the use of animal fats as main raw materials, is less sensitive to raw material quality, and has quality similar to regular diesel, making blending easier.

In line with this trend, the company decided to expand the HVO raw material refining plant as a proactive measure to respond to the global biodiesel supply chain restructuring. Based on the evolution of 2nd generation biodiesel, DS Danseok is also developing high value-added products such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), aiming to achieve higher profits in the future.

Seungwook Han, Chairman of DS Danseok, stated, “Starting with the groundbreaking ceremony for the HVO raw material supply refining plant, we have laid the foundation for the construction of a 500,000-ton plant for HVO production itself by 2026, not just for pretreated raw materials.” He added, “DS Danseok will continue to strengthen its position as a leading resource circulation company by securing new eco-friendly growth engines based on its 1st generation biodiesel export capabilities.”

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