MOSCOW (MRC) -- SK Inc has signed an agreement with US-based green hydrogen company Monolith Materials to create a joint venture for the production of clean hydrogen and carbon black products in South Korea, said Koreaherald.
According to the strategic investment arm of the country’s third-largest conglomerate, the joint venture will produce hydrogen and carbon black products. The US hydrogen maker will provide necessary technology while SK Inc. will be in charge of production, sales and distribution.
Though hydrogen itself is colorless, it is given different color descriptors based on its source and production method. Just like blue hydrogen, turquoise hydrogen is produced by breaking natural gas into hydrogen and carbon. The major difference is, carbon is generated in a solid state during the production of turquoise hydrogen, not in a gaseous state during that of blue hydrogen.
Because turquoise hydrogen doesn’t emit carbon, some classify it as green hydrogen. Also, turquoise hydrogen is relatively cheaper than blue hydrogen, because it doesn’t require carbon capture and storage facilities.
"Solid carbon can be processed into carbon black, the main component of tires and mechanical rubber goods," an SK Inc. official said.
The official added that SK Inc. aims to further utilize the solid carbon as raw materials for electric vehicle batteries. The company plans to begin a research and development project to verify whether the solid carbon can be used for anodes inside EV batteries. Anodes, made of graphite, are one of the four key components of EV batteries, including cathodes, separators and electrolytes.
As per MRC, SK Inc has led an investment round to help US-based green hydrogen company Monolith Materials expand its operations. The investment will support expansion of Monolith’s green hydrogen production facility in Nebraska and further SK’s strategy to make carbon-neutral energy accessible to global markets as part of a commitment to Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) management practices.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 1,396,960 tonnes in January-July 2021, up by 7% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 841,990 tonnes in the first seven months of 2021, up by 29% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymers (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) subsided.
SK Global Chemical is a division of SK Group, Korea's first refinery in operation for over 50 years. SK Group has more than 70 thousand employees working in 113 offices around the world. Its largest enterprises produce mainly petrochemical products.
MRC