Jeollanam-do Accelerates Shift to High Value-Added Products in Petrochemical Materials

Jeollanam-do Secures 16.6 Billion Won for Polyolefin-Based Porous Electrode Materials Project
Paving the Way for High Value-Added Transformation in the Yeosu Petrochemical Industry

Yeosu Industrial Complex Panorama

On September 8, Jeollanam-do announced that it had secured 16.6 billion won by being selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's public contest for the "Development of Manufacturing and Eco-friendly Process Technology for Porous Electrode Materials Using Polyolefin." This achievement is expected to serve as a bridgehead for transforming the petrochemical industry into a high value-added sector.

The project, "Development of Manufacturing and Eco-friendly Process Technology for Porous Electrode Materials Using Polyolefin," aims to develop and demonstrate core manufacturing and process technologies that convert polyolefin (such as PE and PP), which has been significantly impacted by the crisis in the petrochemical industry, into high value-added porous materials.

The total project budget is 16.6 billion won (11.1 billion won in government funding and 5.5 billion won in private investment), and the project will run for four years from 2025 to 2028. DL Chemical, located in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, will lead the project.

Polyolefin is a representative general-purpose material that has dealt a heavy blow to Korea's petrochemical industry, as exports have plummeted due to large-scale facility expansions in China and the Middle East. As a result, diversifying domestic demand for polyolefin and shifting to high value-added products has become urgent.

This project aims to develop manufacturing and process technologies for porous carbon materials used in secondary battery anode materials by imparting porosity and conductivity to polyolefin through pyrolysis and structural control technologies.

Currently, Korea relies on imports for porous carbon materials from raw materials to final products. Therefore, once localization is achieved, it is expected to greatly contribute not only to overcoming the crisis in the domestic petrochemical industry but also to advancing the secondary battery industry.

Kim Kihong, Director of Strategic Industries at Jeollanam-do, said, "This is especially meaningful as it is part of the support project for proactive response to industrial crises, for which Yeosu was selected this year. By shifting from conventional general-purpose materials to high value-added materials, we have laid the foundation for sustainable growth in the petrochemical industry."

He added, "We will continue to attract national projects to support companies in pioneering new opportunities and actively support efforts to overcome the crisis in the Yeosu petrochemical industry."

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