SK Inc. materials increases its US investments to expand the CCUS business

• Affiliates of SK Inc. materials plan to increase investments in 8 Rivers to strengthen the partnership
• 8 Rivers is an innovative clean energy technology company with supercritical CO2 power generation and blue hydrogen production technologies
• SK Inc. materials plans to pursue high-growth clean energy business in North America first and expand the business to global markets such as Asia

SEOUL, South Korea, March 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — SK Inc. materials is accelerating its clean energy business by expanding through its affiliates investment into 8 Rivers who own innovative CCUS (Carbon Capture, Storage, and Utilization) technology.

SK Inc. materials (CEO Lee Yong-wook, www.sk-materials.com) notes, "the board of SK Inc. approved on March 6^th to form and fund US investment vehicles with a total capital contributions of $300 million into such vehicles for the purpose of making US clean tech investments, including additional investments into 8 Rivers."

Through this investment endeavor, SK Inc. materials plans to actively develop the CCUS- based clean energy business in the US and further strengthen the strategic partnership with 8 Rivers. 8 Rivers was established in 2008 in North Carolina. The company owns patented technology that produces clean electricity and blue hydrogen that captures more than 99% of CO₂ in an innovative and low-cost way.

CCUS is recognized as a key technology that advances carbon neutrality by removing CO₂ emitted from industry.

8 Rivers owns supercritical CO₂ power generation technology that naturally captures CO₂  using natural gas and coal as feedstock without any additional equipment and blue hydrogen generation technology utilizing a method that separates CO ₂ by cooling it into a liquefied state.

Following the announcement of the US IRA bill in August of 2022, the value of 8 Rivers’ CCUS technology is appreciating significantly as the market interests in the CCUS business area increases. SK currently intends to continue expanding its investment and collaboration with 8 Rivers as SK greatly values 8 Rivers’ value growth and technologies.

"Although carbon reduction has become a global agenda, it is difficult to replace base-load power generation with renewable energy alone, and the method of capturing CO₂  is still expensive. 8 Rivers, with its innovative technology, will contribute to the acceleration of carbon reduction by significantly improving cost competitiveness." said SK Inc. materials.

SK Inc. materials plans to promote clean energy business centered on the North American market, which has favorable environment and infrastructure optimized for the CCUS business. Once the technology is commercialized, SK plans to expand globally. Clean energy projects will be launched targeting Asian countries that are highly dependent on fossil fuels and have abundant CO2 storage spaces, such as Malaysia and Indonesia. In Korea, we will introduce 8 Rivers technology in the mid to long-term to become a low-cost, high-efficiency CCUS Total Solution Provider.

Recently, SK Inc. materials, in addition to the traditional semiconductor, display, battery-related high-tech materials business, is strengthening its clean energy business. In February 2023, an HoA agreement was signed with ExxonMobil for the introduction of blue ammonia and an investment into ION Clean Energy, a Boulder, Colorado-based carbon capture company, to license the use of ION’s technology in Asia was made.

Cooperation with these companies is expected to contribute to SK Group’s goal of being responsible for 1% (200 million tons) of global carbon reduction by 2030.