SK Materials makes equity investment in ION for CO2 capture partnership

SK Materials Co., an industrial gas manufacturing affiliate of South Korea’s SK Inc., has made an equity investment in ION Clean Energy Inc., a leading US carbon capture technology developer, for a strategic partnership on the development of carbon capture, utilization and storage technology in Asia, the company announced on Thursday.

SK Materials can move ahead of its rivals in the carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology through its partnership with ION, Lee Young-wook, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of SK Materials, said in a press release. The company will use a wide range of CCUS technologies to contribute to global carbon neutrality, he added.

The Korean partner did not disclose investment details including the financial terms and its stake ownership based on the agreement with its American partner, according to the company.  

It was revealed that through the partnership the Korean company was given exclusive rights to conduct business using ION’s CCUS technologies in Korea and the Asian Pacific region. They will also collaborate to develop related technologies and their commercialization in the region.

Headquartered in Colorado, ION boasts its leading CCUS technologies, a highly sought-after suite of green energy technologies as it is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly and effectively. The company has applied for patents on its CCUS technologies in the US and Japan.

Especially its liquid absorption system is highly touted as the most advanced with less energy consumption, meaning that it can help sharply cut carbon reduction costs, according to the company. It won a major project to capture carbon at gas power plants in the US and Canada with financial aid from the US Department of Energy.

Amid growing demand for carbon capture and storage technology, SK Materials last month signed another partnership agreement with global energy giant ExxonMobil Corp. to jointly mass produce blue ammonia using next-generation carbon capture technology and provide it in Korea.

Blue ammonia is made from nitrogen and blue hydrogen derived from natural gas feedstocks, with the carbon dioxide by-product from hydrogen production captured and stored.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.