The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 13th that a research team led by Oh Hyung-seok at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has transferred carbon dioxide conversion technology to LG CHEM. The technology transfer amount is 1.17 billion won.
The technology transferred this time is a process that utilizes electricity to convert carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into high-value-added chemical substances such as ethylene, ethanol, and formic acid. It can produce approximately 10 kg of useful material per day. In the future, if linked with renewable energy, it is expected to be a key technology for producing chemical products without carbon emissions and to have the potential to replace existing petrochemical processes.
However, due to the low maturity of the technology, large-scale demonstration is needed to advance it to commercialization. Since the demonstration case in Germany, which converted about 6 kg of useful material per day in 2023, there have been very few reports of actual large-area electrochemical carbon dioxide conversion technology demonstrations.
The LG CHEM research team is conducting a conversion demonstration project that produces 200 kg of useful material daily at the Chungcheongnam-do Boryung Central Power Plant based on the transferred technology, aiming to promote the industrialization of the technology. If successful, it is expected to contribute to enhancing domestic carbon neutrality technology competitiveness.
In particular, among the high-value-added chemical substances produced through this project, ethanol relies over 99% on imports, so it is anticipated that this technology can significantly contribute to enhancing industrial competitiveness through import substitution.
Jeong Taek-ryeol, Director of Public Convergence Research Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, noted, "This research is a good example of successfully transferring foundational technology developed by government-funded research institutes to the private sector and establishing a foundation for industrialization through large-scale demonstrations in the private sector." He added, "We will continue to actively support the cooperation system between industry, academia, and research to contribute to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050."