LG Chem to produce hydrogen and sell CO2 to Taekyung

Industry

Published: 20 Jun. 2022, 15:40

LG Chem to produce hydrogen and sell CO2 to Taekyung

Noh Kug-lae, left, head of petrochemical business at LG Chem, poses for a photo with Park Ki-hwan, CEO of Taekyung Chemical, after signing an agreement on the cooperation on the use of carbon dioxide produced in the soon-to-be-built hydrogen plant. [LG CHEM]

LG Chem will build its first hydrogen plant in Daesan, South Chungcheong, in an effort to make its business more sustainable.

The plant will have an annual capacity of 50,000 tons. The chemical company is set to start the construction in the first half of next year, with the goal of finishing it in the second half of 2024.

Petrochemical businesses emit carbon dioxide when using methane gas. LG Chem aims to build a facility that can change the methane gas to hydrogen.

When finished, the facility will be able to reduce approximately 140,000 tons of carbon emissions per year, which LG says is equivalent to planting 1 million pine trees.

LG Chem aims to use up to 70 percent of raw materials for clean energy production by 2025.

“The construction of the hydrogen plant is a part of LG Chem’s efforts to create a sustainable future of our petrochemical business through carbon neutrality,” said Noh Kug-lae, head of the company’s petrochemical business.

But the process of creating hydrogen also emits carbon, and LG Chem has a solution for that.

The chemical company signed a contract with Taekyung Chemical to provide it the produced carbon dioxide. Using them, Taekyung makes liquid carbon dioxide for food and beverages such as beer and carbonated beverages, as well as dry ice.

The contract with LG Chem will help Taekyung boost its daily carbon dioxide gas production capacity from 850 tons to 1,420 tons.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]