South Korean pyrolysis firm LD Carbon has gained investment from SK Incheon Petrochem
LD Carbon has been gaining traction in the Far East with contracts with Korean and Japanese tyre manufacturers. Now, it has attracted the latest investment from SK Incheon Petrochem, the petrol business subsidiary of SK innovation. The SK Group, has invested in LDC (Life re-Defined Carbon) to produce 20,000 tons of eco-friendly products per year from as early as the first half of next year.
SK Group announced that the group had signed a three-way contract with LD Carbon and the South Korea Development Bank to fund the establishment of a new pyrolysis facility. The construction of the facility is the first step toward expediting its waste tyre recycling business, which the firm says will foster sustainability-driven green future growth.
The SK affiliate expects the plan to strengthen the value chain encompassing waste tyre collection, decomposing and recycling, as bolstered by LD Carbon, which obtained International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS), recently. This follows supply agreements with a South Korean tyre manufacturer, and Sumitomo in Japan.
Korea produces between 300,000 and 400,000 tons of waste tyres per year, almost all of which have either been burnt for fuel or ended up in a landfill. South Korea has been a longstanding consumer of tyre-derived-fuel, but the market is now looking for higher value outputs from recycling.
SK Incheon Petrochemical President Choi Yun-seok said the project will become the stepping stone for rapid global expansion with like-minded green recycling-driven business partners; “We will work closely with LD Carbon and expand our business portfolio in the years to come,” he said. “We will strive to become a business that best exemplifies green growth through innovation in waste circulation.”
