SK Earthon teams up with British company Azuli in CO2 capture

SK Earthon has joined hands with Azuli, a British company that specializes in carbon capture and storage (CCS), to search for business opportunities in CCS.

SK Earthon, a subsidiary of SK Innovation Co. on Monday said it signed on Dec. 27 a business agreement with Azuli on forming a strategic partnership.

The main goal of this collaboration is joint promotion of a CCS project that can permanently inject into and isolate a large volume of CO₂ in underground geological structures by searching for projects with high commercial potential based on the technologies of both companies.

The two sides will preemptively seek business opportunities in Australia and the US, two countries with CCS-related legal systems in place, and expand their CCS business cooperation to other countries including South Korea.

SK Earthon actively promotes CCS, a key vehicle for energy transition and decarbonatization, based on its years of capacity and technology in oil development.

The project with Azuli is expected to accelerate SK Innovation’s goal of of "net zero" or zero carbon emissions and make SK Earthon a leading CCS company in the Asia-Pacific region for solutions in handling CO2 emissions.

Azuli is a UK-based CCS specialist company that recently opened an affiliate in the US and conducts two CCS projects in the Persian Gulf region.

"Under its vision of emerging as a private company that leads eco-friendly ventures in connection with CCS, SK Earthon will contribute to achieving Korea's target for carbon dioxide reduction," said Noh Jeong-yong, head of SK Earthon's Green Center.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at kkm1026@hankyung.com