GS Caltex, Jeonnam-do and Yeosu City cooperate in carbon capture utilization business

On the August 6, GS Caltex signed a "Business Agreement to Promote Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) Megaproject" at the Jeollanam-do Provincial Office in Mooan-gun, Jeollanam-do, with GS Caltex President Heo Se-hong, Jeollanam-do Governor Kim Young-rok, Yeosu Mayor Jung Ji-myung, and other key officials.

CCU is a technology that captures carbon dioxide emitted from business sites and produces various carbon compounds with high added value such as fuels and chemicals through technologies such as chemical and biological conversion and mineralization.

Through this business agreement, Jeollanam-do and Yeosu-si will support the creation of an industrial ecosystem and foundation for carbon neutrality in Jeollanam-do utilizing CCU technology, and GS Caltex will strive to secure process technologies such as the development of carbon dioxide raw materials and fuel materials through the CCU demonstration project.

Jeollanam-do is actively promoting efforts to reduce carbon in local industries, including the creation of CCU R&D infrastructure, and Yeosu, in particular, is a region rich in industrial byproducts for utilizing carbon dioxide as it is composed of national industrial complexes such as the steel industry, petrochemical industry, and refinery industry, and is expected to have synergistic effects of the CCU demonstration project.

GS Caltex has been continuously managing greenhouse gas emissions as part of its measures to respond to climate change and reduce environmental impacts, and has been seeking opportunities to reduce carbon. Recently, GS Caltex conducted CCU technology research to reduce carbon and succeeded in developing carbon dioxide-infused polyols and applied for a patent.

The CO₂ polyol is said to be 30% harder than existing products, and its water resistance and light resistance to yellowing are also superior to existing products.

Under the agreement, GS Caltex will develop and demonstrate CCU-related technologies in Yeosu Industrial Complex, focusing on chemical conversion technology research. Currently, the company has completed the laboratory-level verification of the technology and is preparing for the pilot verification and demonstration phase.

"Through the CCU demonstration project based on the agreement with the local government, we expect to secure world-class CCU process technology and expand our product lineup," said Heo Se-hong, President of GS Caltex. "In the future, we will produce and export e-Fuel, e-SAF, and e-Chemical products and present a new business model and vision for Yeosusudan to continue to grow as a CCU cluster."

"I am very pleased that the business agreement ceremony for the selection of the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) mega project was held," said Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeollanam-do. "As Jeollanam-do is making multifaceted efforts for the structural transformation of the petrochemical industry in Yeosusudan, we will do our utmost to help Yeosu National Industrial Complex, centered on GS Caltex, become a global carbon-neutral mecca."

"We hope that the successful implementation of the CCU megaproject will serve as a turning point for a high-value-added and eco-friendly carbon-neutral industry that can overcome the crisis in the petrochemical industry, and we will spare no effort to provide administrative support," said Yeosu City Mayor Jung Jung-myung.

Meanwhile, in April, GS Caltex signed a business agreement with the Korea Institute of Chemical Technology for CCU business cooperation and strategic alliance to secure the world's best technology to produce high-value-added products from recycled carbon dioxide.

GS Caltex is promoting deep transformation to achieve sustainable growth. It is pursuing fundamental changes in the way of working across the entire company's value chain and expanding its capabilities in digital and green areas to expand its low-carbon business. Based on the stable growth of existing businesses, we are preparing for large-scale businesses such as biofuels, waste plastic recycling, hydrogen, CCUS, and White Bio, and are building a sustainable business portfolio by responding to the energy transition in a balanced manner.

(AI supported translation from 
https://gscaltexmediahub.com/news/ccu-project-cooperation/)

Picture: GS Caltex CEO Heo Se-hong (center), Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok (left), and Yeosu Mayor Chung Ji-myung signed a business agreement to promote the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) megaproject at the Jeonnam Provincial Office on June 6 (Photo by GS Caltex)