To build a pyrolysis plant in the Ulsan plastic recycling complex

SK Geo Centric, a subsidiary of SK Innovation, has signed a contract with British company Plastic Energy, which specializes in plastic pyrolysis, completing the “last puzzle” of the world’s first plastic recycling complex to be built in 2025. Amid a surge in demand for plastic recycled products worldwide, SK Geo Centric’s green business is building momentum.

SK Geo Centric announced on Jan. 6 (local time) at CES 2023 that it had signed a contract with Plastic Energy to introduce the technology to build a pyrolysis plant in the Ulsan plastic recycling complex. Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geo Centric, Bruno Guillon, Chief Commercial Officer of Plastic Energy, and others attended the signing ceremony.

Key officials from SK Geo Centric and Plastic Energy are taking a commemorative photo at the SK Group pavilion exhibited at CES 2023 in the US. (From left) Head of Corporate Development Ying Staton, Plastic Energy Chief Commercial Officer Bruno Guillon, CEO of SK Geocentric Na Kyung-soo, Leader of SK Geo Centric Green Business Group Lee Jong-hyuk.
Key officials from SK Geo Centric and Plastic Energy are taking a commemorative photo at the SK Group pavilion exhibited at CES 2023 in the US. (From left) Head of Corporate Development Ying Staton, Plastic Energy Chief Commercial Officer Bruno Guillon, CEO of SK Geocentric Na Kyung-soo, Leader of SK Geo Centric Green Business Group Lee Jong-hyuk.

SK Geo Centric will start the construction process for its pyrolysis plant this year. By introducing Plastic Energy’s advanced pyrolysis technology in Ulsan, South Korea, it will promote an annual capacity of 66,000 tonnes of end-of-life plastic waste input, the largest capacity in Asia. SK Geo Centric plans to improve pyrolysis oil to an even higher quality by creating a pyrolysis oil post-treatment plant that implements the company’s own technologies.

The two companies also signed an MOU for the “strategic partnership to expand the advanced recycling business in selected countries across Asia.” They agreed to respond preemptively to growing global demand by establishing a joint venture to develop opportunities to establish new advanced recycling facilities following Ulsan in the Seoul metropolitan area, China, Japan and other key markets. Plastic Energy’s patented TAC™ process recycles plastics that normally cannot be mechanically recycled, converting them into a feedstock called TACOIL™, used to create virgin-quality plastics that have been deployed in numerous consumer packaging products including for food and cosmetics.

SK Geo Centric announced the official name of the Ulsan plastic recycling complex as the “Ulsan Advanced Recycling Cluster (ARC).” SK Geo Centric gathered the three advanced chemical recycling technologies in one place through strategic collaboration with global companies such as PCT (US), Loop (Canada), and Plastic Energy (UK). This action is expected to enable efficient plastic recycling.

SK Geo Centric is cooperating with PureCycle Technologies in the US on Ultra PP supercritical extraction technology that removes pollutants from waste plastics, and has signed a contract to create a joint venture following an equity investment of 55 million dollars It has also secured exclusive sales rights in Korea and the rights to conduct business in China and Southeast Asia.

Na Kyung-soo, CEO of SK Geo Centric, said, “It is very meaningful to have secured the key technology for recycling plastic, which can contribute to greenness and carbon reduction at CES 2023, a competition for cutting-edge technologies.” He added, “We will do our best to continue strategic partnerships with global companies with core capacities and create Ulsan ARC smoothly.”

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