SK invests in U.S. biofuel company to boost green energy biz

State spending on strategic industries to surge 43% next year

 SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) — SK Inc., the holding firm of South Korea’s No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Thursday it and a local private equity fund have invested a combined US$50 million in a U.S. biofuel company, as part of efforts to boost its green energy portfolio.

The investment in Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc. will help SK make further inroads into the bio energy market, as the U.S. firm is specialized in the chemical conversion of everyday waste into drop-in fuels that can be used as alternatives to traditional petroleum products, SK said.

The value of SK’s investment in the deal was not disclosed.

Fulcrum, a California-based waste-to-fuels company, has a proprietary process to turn the organic materials found in daily garbage, formally known as municipal solid waste (MSW), into low-carbon drop-in fuels, mostly used as transportation fuel.

The company has a commercial-scale MSW biofuel refinery in Nevada, which will begin producing about 11 million gallons of synthetic crude oil annually starting in 2022.

The output will be upgraded to transportation fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel, according to SK.

This photo, provided by SK Inc., shows Fulcrum's synthetic crude oil production plant in Nevada, the United States, on Dec. 16, 2021. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

This photo, provided by SK Inc., shows Fulcrum’s synthetic crude oil production plant in Nevada, the United States, on Dec. 16, 2021. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

elly@yna.co.kr

(YONHAP NEWS)

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