Yeosu National Industrial Complex, Fostered as a New Industry Hub for Carbon Neutrality Response

Opening of Carbon Neutral Chemical Process Demonstration Center in Yeosu Future Innovation District on the 6th

Establishing a Carbon Neutral Foundation through CCUS Industry Infrastructure Expansion and Technology Development

Yeosu City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Jeong Gi-myeong) will officially launch the Carbon Neutral Chemical Process Demonstration Center of the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology in the Yeosu Future Innovation District on the 6th, marking the start of fostering new industries responding to carbon neutrality.

The initiative aims to transform the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, the largest integrated petrochemical industrial complex in Korea, into an eco-friendly and low-carbon industrial complex, achieving the national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC) and strengthening the competitiveness of the petrochemical industry.

[Photo by Yeosu City]

According to the city on the 4th, the Carbon Neutral Chemical Process Demonstration Center is the only carbon-neutral petrochemical process demonstration research facility in Korea, playing a key role in ▲ catalyst development necessary for low-carbon high value-added industrial processes, ▲ equipment and prototype production support required for CCU demonstration, and ▲ development of technologies responding to carbon neutrality.

Accordingly, the city plans to intensively foster new industries for the petrochemical industry's response to carbon neutrality and transition to a low-carbon industrial structure, which has played a pivotal role in the regional industry for the past half-century, taking advantage of the opening of the Carbon Neutral Chemical Process Demonstration Center.

▶ Establishment of a CCUS Cluster in Yeosu National Industrial Complex... Full-scale work to begin this year

CCUS refers to technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide generated when using fossil fuels (CCS) and technologies that utilize the captured carbon (CCU), serving as a core means for carbon neutrality. The CCUS cluster aims to combine these two industries.

The CCUS cluster is a government-led project to build CCUS infrastructure that is difficult to establish at the private company level, broadly divided into ▲ the CCS public infrastructure construction project combined with the CCU project to build the CCUS cluster, and ▲ the conversion of gray hydrogen to blue hydrogen through CCUS.

To this end, the city allocated 500 million KRW from the government budget in December last year for a feasibility study, and this year the national government will directly conduct the study to design the cluster and include detailed projects necessary for the cluster.

▶ Transitioning the high-carbon petrochemical industry to a low-carbon industry... Establishing a foundation for carbon neutrality

The city is also working on laying the foundation to realize carbon neutrality by transforming the high-carbon petrochemical industry based on petroleum into a low-carbon industry.

To this end, the city is promoting the designation of a specialized complex for materials, parts, and equipment (hereafter, MoBuJang) to foster a carbon-neutral eco-friendly chemical industry, including white bio, biodegradable plastics, and recycling industries.

The MoBuJang specialized complex is designated by the government to stabilize the entire supply chain of demand and supply and achieve technological independence by clustering related companies around anchor companies in the relevant industrial fields.

Previously, the city, together with Jeollanam-do, began a feasibility study research project in October last year to be designated as a carbon-neutral eco-friendly chemical industry MoBuJang specialized complex and is preparing to apply for the specialized complex designation in the second half of this year.

▶ Yeosu City accelerates the designation and infrastructure development of the carbon-neutral eco-friendly chemical industry MoBuJang specialized complex

In particular, to ensure the early establishment of such projects, the city has continuously prepared related industrial infrastructure, including the creation of the Future Innovation District, and has worked hard to attract many research institutes and cluster them.

First, on November 29 last year, the Jeonnam Technopark Chemical Industry Center opened in the Yeosu Future Innovation District, expected to play a pivotal role in establishing the Yeosu National Industrial Complex CCUS cluster construction project, fostering the white bio industry, formulating regional chemical industry development strategies, and supporting small and medium enterprises.

Alongside this, the KATRI Testing and Research Institute was selected for the ‘Biodegradable Plastics Standard Development and Evaluation Infrastructure Construction Project,’ which forms the foundation for fostering the white bio industry, and will establish a regional organization in the Future Innovation District to conduct research and support companies in the white bio field.

Additionally, the Korea Electric Power Corporation Power Research Institute was selected as the lead agency for the government public contest for the ‘Industrial Complex-type Supercritical CO2 Power Generation Industrialization Support Center Construction Project,’ and will establish demonstration facilities in the Future Innovation District to conduct commercialization-based research.

Supercritical carbon dioxide power generation is a method of generating electricity by rotating turbines with carbon dioxide in a supercritical state instead of steam boiled from water. Compared to steam turbines, turbine size is reduced by 80%, facilitating miniaturization and distributed power sources, and power generation efficiency improves by 2-5%, reducing power generation costs by up to 15%.

Mayor Jeong Gi-myeong of Yeosu said, “Through the establishment of the CCUS cluster and the designation of the carbon-neutral eco-friendly chemical industry MoBuJang specialized complex, we will foster the Yeosu National Industrial Complex as a mecca for new industries responding to carbon neutrality.” He added, “We expect this to bring various positive effects, including strengthening the domestic and international competitiveness of companies in the Yeosu industrial complex, realizing carbon neutrality, and revitalizing the local economy.”

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