SK E&S to invest $110 million in Summit Carbon Solutions

A view of a plant that creates corn ethanol, a type of bio fuel. SK E&S invested in a project that captures carbon dioxide from corn ethanol plants and stores it in a facility in North Dakota. [SK E&S]

SK E&S will invest $110 million in Summit Carbon Solutions for a 10 percent stake, investing in a project that will build the world’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility.

Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions’ CCS project aims to build an underground facility in North Dakota that can annually store up to 12 million tons of carbon dioxide. A 3,200 kilometer (1,990 miles) pipeline will transport carbon dioxide captured from 32 corn ethanol plants in the United States to the facility, reducing carbon emissions and storing it where it can't harm the environment.

The company says the project will build the biggest CCS facility in the world.

Construction of the pipeline and storage facility will begin in the first half of next year, aiming to start operations in the second half of 2024.

Following the investment, SK E&S plans participate in more carbon storage projects around the world and acquire carbon credits. In the United States, bio fuel produced through CCS grants carbon credits proportionate to the amount of carbon dioxide reduced.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]