SK Ecoplant joins with PnP to foster eco-friendly global startups

South Korea’s SK Ecoplant Co. will join with global venture capital firm Plug and Play (PnP) to discover and launch global startups in eco-friendly fields.

SK Group's construction unit said on Sunday it had signed an MOU with PnP on Jan. 5 on the joint development of and investment in global eco-friendly businesses and promising technologies.

PnP is well known for its investment in large IT companies such as Google, PayPal and Dropbox.

The two companies will collaborate on discovering and exchanging global innovative startups in eco-friendly sectors, helping the startups verify and commercialize technologies, and fostering an eco-friendly business ecosystem for them.

Through this cooperative framework, SK Ecoplant plans to accelerate the pace of its investment in startups in the global market. On Aug. 31 last year, it decided to invest $50 million in Ascend Elements Inc., a US-based lithium-ion battery recycling firm, becoming the company's largest shareholder.

"This agreement is significant for our securing of technological competitiveness by enabling the discovery of innovative, global eco-friendly technologies and accelerating the formation of a virtuous cycle in an ecosystem that can be sustained into the future," said Park Kyung-il, CEO of SK Ecoplant.

Write to Ohsang Yoo at osyoo@hankyung.com