Chungnam Begins World's Largest "Green-ol" Demonstration to Convert CO₂ into Fuels and Materials

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Chungnam has begun the world's largest demonstration project for carbon dioxide conversion, based on next-generation carbon-neutral core technology (CCU).

On September 8, at Korea Midland Power's Boryeong Power Plant, Chungnam Province held a demonstration event for "Green-ol New Energy Technology," attended by Governor Kim Tae-heum, Boryeong Mayor Kim Dongil, National Research Council of Science & Technology Chairman Kim Youngsik, Korea Midland Power President Lee Youngjo, KIST Vice President Jang Junyeon, and LG Chem Research Center Director Kim Noma.

"Green-ol" is a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) conversion technology developed by KIST. It converts CO₂ into high-value-added fuels and materials such as green methanol, plastic feedstock, sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF), and green ethanol through electricity, water, and microbial reactions.

If renewable energy is used for power, a zero-carbon chemical production system can be realized.

For this demonstration, Chungnam Province provided 2 billion won in support, Boryeong Thermal Power Plant offered the site and capture facilities, KIST supplied the core technology, and LG Chem established a large-scale demonstration platform, which began full operation on September 1.

Currently, the project has successfully produced 200 kg of carbon monoxide (CO) per day from 300 kg of CO₂ input, setting a new world record more than 50 times greater than the 6 kg scale demonstrated in Germany in 2023.

The CO produced can be converted into hexanol, a feedstock for aviation fuel, through a bio-process.

Chungnam Province and its research teams plan to use this demonstration as a foundation to explore commercialization strategies and secure new growth engines for the petrochemical, aviation, and materials industries, including replacing imports of eSAF and methanol and localizing plastic feedstock production.

Governor Kim Tae-heum stated, "Chungnam accounts for half of the nation’s coal-fired power plants, making it the highest carbon emitter. This achievement will serve as a turning point, transforming Chungnam into a hub for innovation in carbon-neutral industrial technology."

The province expects that the results of this demonstration will have a positive impact on the ongoing preliminary feasibility study for the "CCU Mega Project."

This project is a large-scale initiative to establish a CCU-based business model centered on Boryeong Thermal Power Plant and the Hanwha TotalEnergies site in Seosan.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that CCU technology will account for 15% of global CO₂ reduction by 2070.

Chungnam’s "Green-ol" demonstration is considered an important milestone for Korea’s industrial and energy structure innovation and for securing a leading position in the global eSAF market.

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