■ SK Innovation Vice Chairman & CEO Kim Jun visited R&D facilities and emphasized the future green energy that will achieve ‘All Time Net Zero’ vision

■ The Institute of Environmental Science & Technology has led the growth of SK Innovation and its subsidiaries through development of high-end lube base oil, electric vehicle batteries, LiBS, and etc

■ The late Chairman Chey Jong-hyon’s pioneering insight 40 years ago comes to fruition with future energies such as BMR, plastic pyrolysis post-treatment technology

SK Innovation Vice Chairman &CEO Kim Jun stated, “Institute of Environmental Science & Technology (hereinafter IEST) is responsible for the key role as a Green Portfolio Designer & Developer of our ‘All Time Net Zero’ Vision.” He added, “IEST should be the mainstay of research and development (R&D) to lead the future green energy industry.”

SK Innovation announced that Vice Chairman & CEO Kim Jun visited the IEST in Daejeon, South Korea on May 15 to inspect current R&D issues and encourage the staff. Vice Chairman & CEO Kim visited the Analytical Solution Center and Environmental Technology Research Center within the IEST, listened to the concerns of the members, and shared the IEST’s future vision.

In particular, Vice Chairman & CEO Kim made a surprise visit to the site of The HappyIEST Day, a communication program for the IEST’s members, and engaged in casual communication while supporting members to practice happiness-sharing through donations. The members enjoyed their time communicating not only through sharing items but also through taking instant photos and playing an ESG-themed arcade game.

Vice Chairman & CEO Kim also attended a tree-planting ceremony to strengthen the resolution for the next 40 years for future energy R&D. Together with members born in 1983, which is the year when SK Innovation’s R&D management was born, and the management of the Institute, he planted pine trees. At this ceremony, Vice Chairman & CEO Kim emphasized, “This year marks the first year of kickstarting the future energy business aimed at carbon reduction and electrification,” and he added, “The role of R&D is most important in opening up the future energy market.”

Moreover, he continued, “IEST was the starting point of SK Innovation’s R&D management and has led the remarkable growth of SK Innovation and its subsidiaries over the past 40 years. I hope that it will continue to play a role in expanding the future energy businesses portfolio, such as ammonia and battery metal recycling (BMR), through continuous R&D innovation for the next 40 years.”

SK Innovation introduced R&D management following the pioneering insight of the late Chairman Chey Jong-hyon, who believed that independent technology development was necessary to leap forward as a comprehensive energy company. In 1983, the organization, the “Institute of Technology Support,” was first formed in Yukong, the precursor of SK Innovation, and research facilities were established in Ulsan in 1985. The Ulsan Institute of Technology Support, the first R&D center in Korea’s refining industry, has been restructured several times and has now become SK Innovation Institute of Environmental Science & Technology.

The IEST has been playing a pivotal role in the advancement of SK Innovation by continuously developing new technologies, such as high-end lube base oil, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and Lithium-ion Battery Separators (LiBS). Notably, in 1995, it developed the world’s first process technology to produce YUBASE, a high-end lube base oil, from Unconverted Oil (UCO) of a refinery. Furthermore, in 2005, it was the first in Korea and the third in the world to create LiBS, a core material for EV batteries by using its own original technology. In relation to the battery business, the IEST began developing lithium-ion batteries in 1996 and successfully developed its own technology for manufacturing large and medium-sized EV batteries in 2006.

Recently, efforts for the future energy business to execute the “Carbon to Green” strategy are about to become fruitful achievements. The IEST has developed the world-class BMR technology, which recovers lithium hydroxide, and it also has completed the scale-up demonstration of the plastic pyrolysis oil post-treatment technology, which SK Innovation was the first company to develop in Korea. Combining these technologies together, the IEST has contributed to establishing SK Geo Centric’s Ulsan ARC (Advanced Recycling Cluster), the world’s first plastic recycling total complex, by 2025. In addition, it has developed biofuel and eco-friendly asphalt manufacturing technologies for carbon emission reduction and is gaining recognition in the field of thermal fluid technology for liquid immersion cooling.

An official from SK Innovation said, “The Institute of Environmental Science & Technology is the center of developing technology solutions for carbon reduction,” adding, “We will strive to quickly discover promising technologies in the green business sector and gain competitiveness.”

[Photo]

(Photo 1) SK Innovation Vice Chairman & CEO Kim Jun (fourth from the left) and Head of SK Innovation Institute of Environmental Science & Technology Lee Seong-jun (fifth from the left) are taking commemorative photos at the 40^th anniversary of R&D management tree-planting ceremony held in SK Innovation IEST, Daejeon, on May 15 (local time).

(Photo 2) SK Innovation Vice Chairman & CEO Kim Jun (second from the right) is sprinkling soil at the base of the tree in the 40^th anniversary of R&D management tree planting ceremony.

(Photo 3) SK Innovation Vice Chairman & CEO Kim Jun is visiting the SK Innovation Institute of Environmental Science & Technology and greeting the members.