SK Materials invests $100 million in 8 Rivers to promote clean energy businesses

By Lim Chang-won Posted : March 8, 2022, 15:06 Updated : March 8, 2022, 15:06

[Courtesy of SK Materials]

SEOUL -- The material investment unit of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate SK Group will invest $100 million to secure a 12 percent stake in 8 Rivers Capital, a U.S. developer and financier of energy technology. A joint venture will be established to promote clean energy businesses in Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, which are highly dependent on fossil fuels.

 SK Materials said it would have the exclusive business rights of 8 Rivers' carbon capture, utilization and storage technology in Asia and priority participation in the development of global projects and new technologies. In South Korea, SK Materials will construct a plant with 8 Rivers' technology to sell blue hydrogen and clean electricity.
  
Carbon capture utilization technology is used to capture carbon generated in the hydrogen production process. It is a key technology to produce eco-friendly blue hydrogen and reduce CO2 emissions. Blue hydrogen is derived from natural gas, generating CO2 during the production process that requires carbon capture technology.

With 8 Rivers' technology, SK Materials said that it is possible to achieve high power generation efficiency with relatively low investment costs and reduce air pollutant emissions. 
  
8 Rivers is known for supercritical CO2 power generation technology that inherently collects carbon dioxide without a separate facility and blue hydrogen manufacturing technology that cools and separates CO2 at low temperatures in the hydrogen production process. 

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