■ CEO of SKGC Na Kyung-soo accelerates global activities to build a carbon-neutral & plastic circular economy

– CEO Na and other executives visited three partner companies in North America to speed up securing three major chemical recycling technologies

– Conducted due diligence on eco-friendly technologies and factories, and discussed specific cooperative plans with partner executives

SK Geo Centric (SKGC), a subsidiary of SK Innovation that has been taking the lead in resolving the waste plastic problem, is on its way to complete its “plastic waste recycling” through global partnering. In an effort to do so, SKGC CEO Na Kyung-soo has led a group of the company’s leaders to visit their partner companies in Canada and the U.S.

The main purpose of this tour are to secure three major chemical recycling technologies and to strengthen global partnerships, which will ultimately help the company achieve the goals of carbon neutrality and establishing a circular economy for plastic

CEO Na and other executive staffs of SKGC took a week to go to Canada and the U.S. from November 11^th. There, they had meetings with Loop Industries in Canada, then flew to the States to visit Brightmark, and PureCycle Technologies. Representatives of the companies discussed concrete plans for their partnerships, and SKGC leaders took a tour around the partner’s facilities to take a closer look at the plastic chemical recycling technologies and processes.

Each of these global partner companies has its own technology to chemically recycle the plastic waste, including ▲ depolymerization, ▲ pyrolysis, and ▲ high-purity PP* extraction. The visit was a chance for CEO Na and the executives of SKGC to inspect the specific implementation strategy of Green Transformation pursued by the company, such as establishing the bases for the three technologies and the commercialization facility in Asia with the partners.

* PP (Polypropylene): a type of plastics usually used for packaging materials and automotive interior materials.

The tour started with SKGC CEO Na and other executives’ visit to Loop Industries in Quebec, Canada on November 12^th (local time). Loop Industries CEO Daniel Solomita, and CTO Stephen Champagne, took the guests from Korea on a tour around the depolymerization facility, and showed the construction progress of the company’s commercialization plant, which will be completed in early 2024.

Two companies discussed the direction of business expansion in Asia, details regarding marketing plans for waste plastic recycling and collaboration projects with various global brands, and so on. “It’s fantastic to be able to have a partnership with SKGC for Asia,” said Loop Industries CEO Daniel Solomita. “Together we’ll be able to really expand the technology and bring circular economy to plastics,” he added.

In June, SKGC announced a USD 56.5 million investment in Loop Industries, amounting to a 10% stake in the company and exclusive rights in the Asian market. Following the announcement, technology verification and feasibility evaluation for plant construction in Korea are in progress.

After the trip to Canada, CEO Na and SKGC executives came to the U.S. to visit Brightmark on November 14^th (local time). Brightmark is the partner that joined an MOU for commercialization and investment of the facility of large-scale pyrolysis with SKGC in January this year. At Brightmark, SKGC leaders met the company CEO Bob Powell and Senior Vice President Shakil Rahman, who is in charge of Global Plastics Development & Origination, to talk about ways to expand eco-friendly business cooperation.

The last destination of the tour was PureCycle Technologies on 16^th (local time). SKGC and PureCycle signed an MOU in August for the establishment of a JV for recycling PP waste. During the meeting this time, two companies discussed detailed plans for cooperation, and other matters such as expansion of the business in the Asian market, etc. CEO of PureCycle Mike Otworth, and CMO Dustin Olson also led the guests to tour around the company’s facility and check the high-purity PP extraction method at the plant.

CEO of SKGC Na Kyung-soo said, “It was a good time to confirm our partnerships with globally top-tier companies that can create urban oil fields by recycling plastic wastes.” and explained, “By establishing and implementing eco-friendly business acceleration strategies in various ways, such as equity investment and building JV factories, SKGC will contribute to the establishment of a plastic circular economy.”

[Photos]

(Photo 1) SK Geo Centric CEO Na Kyung-soo (right) and Loop Industries CEO Daniel Solomita (left) take a commemorative photo at Loop Industries’ facility in Quebec, Canada, on November 12th, 2021.

(Photo 2) PureCycle Technologies CEO Mike Otworth (left) explains the high-purity PP extraction method to SK Geo Centric CEO Na Kyung-soo (right) at PureCycle Technologies’ facility in the U.S. on November 16th, 2021.