Economy

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  SK Trading International invests in U.S. e-fuel producer Infinium SEOUL -- SK Trading International, a petroleum product trading company affiliated with South Korea's SK Group, has made an unspecified amount of investment in Infinium, an American producer of electrofuels which are an emerging class of drop-in replacement fuels that are made by storing energy from renewable sources in the chemical bonds of liquid or gas fuels. SK Trading International (SKTI) said it has closed a round of institutional funding into Infinium, which possesses li 2022-10-12
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  POSCO earmarks $1.09 billion to boost lithium hydroxide production in Argentina SEOUL -- POSCO has earmarked $1.09 billion to produce 25,000 tons of lithium hydroxide, an inorganic compound used for electric vehicle batteries, in Argentina. The steel group has purchased lithium mining rights in a salt lake for $280 million to become a global player in the battery material market. POSCO Holdings, the group's holding company, has revealed a goal to produce 610,000 tons of cathode materials, 320,000 tons of anode materials, 300,000 tons of lithium and 22,000 2022-10-11
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  Lotte Chemical acquires Iljin Materials to expand battery material business SEOUL -- Lotte Chemical, a major chemical company based in South Korea, acquired a controlling 53.3 percent stake in Iljin Materials, the domestic producer of thin copper foils, for 2.7 trillion won ($1.9 billion) to accelerate the overseas expansion of its battery material business. At factories in South Korea and Malaysia, Iljin is capable of producing some 60,000 tons of thin copper foils. In June 2022, the company clinched a long-term order worth 8.52 trillion won from Samsung S 2022-10-11
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  Shell and DNV work with S. Korean companies to demonstrate SOFC on LNG carrier SEOUL -- Shell, a global energy and petrochemical group, formed a consortium with DNV, a classification society based in Norway, and three South Korean companies to develop fuel cells as an auxiliary power unit. It will be demonstrated on a trade route for one year from 2025 by mounting a 600-kilowatt solid oxide fuel cell system on a 174,000 cubic meter liquefied natural gas carrier. SOFC is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a 2022-10-11
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  SK siltron and Britain's IQE work together to develop GaN wafers targeting Asian markets SEOUL -- SK siltron, a wafer company affiliated with South Korea's SK Group, has forged strategic ties with IQE, a British semiconductor company that manufactures advanced epitaxial wafers, to develop and commercialize compound semiconductor products mainly targeting Asian markets. Epitaxy refers to a type of crystal growth or material deposition in which new crystalline layers are formed with one or more well-defined orientations with respect to the crystalline seed layer. Th 2022-10-11
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  CJ Cheiljedang ties up with Yuhan Kimberly to develop consumer goods with biodegradable plastic material SEOUL -- CJ Cheiljedang, a key subsidiary of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, tied up with Yuhan Kimberly, a major domestic sanitary product maker, to promote the development of consumer goods such as diapers, wet wipes, masks, and packaging materials using a biodegradable plastic material produced by bacteria during the fermentation process of sugar or lipids including fats, oils and waxes to store carbon and energy. CJ Cheiljedang said that the par 2022-10-07
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  KG Steel releases new iron sheet with antibacterial and anti-fingerprint treatment SEOUL -- KG Steel, a steel company in South Korea, has released a new electro-galvanized iron sheet with anti-fingerprint treatment. An antibacterial agent containing silver ions was added for antibacterial properties that can be maintained for more than 10 years in the domestic climate. KG Steel said that its new anti-fingerprint steel plate brand-maned "BioCOT" showed excellent antibacterial and anti-fungal performances verified with customers for mass production in the 2022-10-07
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  ​POSCO joins group research to develop low-carbon plastic manufacturing technology with byproduct gas SEOUL -- South Korea's top steelmaker POSCO has joined a task force to utilize by-product gas generated by steel mills as a plastic raw material with carbon capture utilization technology that captures waste carbon dioxide and transports it to a storage site for recycling. Research on the development of low-carbon olefin manufacturing technology that can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 15 percent compared to existing technologies will be conducted for three years until 2022-10-06
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  Daewoo shipyard completes performance verification of ship-based carbon dioxide capture and storage equipment SEOUL -- Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, a major shipbuilder in South Korea, has completed the performance verification of ship-based carbon dioxide capture and storage equipment by mounting it on an actual natural gas carrier. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has teamed up with Gaslog, an LNG shipping service company in Greece, and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), a classification society based in the United States, to apply an onboard carb 2022-10-06
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  Hyundai shipyard wins $337 million order to build FSRU for Excelerate Energy SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group clinched an order worth 475.7 billion won ($337 million) to build a floating storage regasification unit (FSRU), which is a special type of tanker fitted with equipment to gently warm liquefied natural gas (LNG) back into a gaseous state so it can be piped to customers on land. The 170,000 cubic meter FSRU vessel will be delivered to Excelerate Energy, a U.S.-based market leader in floating LNG regasification solutions, by the e 2022-10-05
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  SK hynix uses homemade neon gas in semiconductor production through localization SEOUL -- SK hynix, a major memory chip producer in South Korea, has expanded the proportion of homemade neon gas to 40 percent in semiconductor production since a localized facility was completed in early 2022 to preemptively address the risk of supply and demand instability. The company will fully use domestic neon by 2024. Neon is a raw material for excimer laser gas which is used in semiconductor photolithography, a process of engraving electronic circuits on silicon wafers usi 2022-10-05
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  LG Chem's bio-balanced PVC used for production of luxury vinyl tiles SEOUL -- Nox, a flooring company in South Korea, will produce luxury vinyl tiles for high-performance commercial and residential flooring using bio-balanced polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or simply known as vinyl, produced by LG Chem with biomaterials such as renewable waste oil and palm by-products. PVC is a high-strength thermoplastic material that is replacing traditional building materials due to its versatile properties, such as lightweight, durable, low cost and easy processabil 2022-10-05
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  Samsung Electronics discloses plans for mass production with 1.4-nanometer process technology in 2027 SEOUL -- In a strategy to strengthen its foundry business in competition with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Samsung Electronics has confidently disclosed a goal to mass produce advanced semiconductors with 1.4-nanometer (nm) process technology in 2027. There has been no commitment yet from TSMC to 1.4nm chips. A semiconductor fab or known as a foundry operates for the purpose of fabricating the designs of other companies, such as fabless semiconductor companie 2022-10-04
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  No hurry in selling HMM to new company, not foreign company or private equity fund SEOUL -- HMM, a major shipping company controlled by creditors in South Korea, has seen brisk performances, heightening expectations about its normalization before being sold to a new private owner. However, policymakers took a cautious stance over its sale which emerged as a buzzword after Hanwha Group was picked as the potential owner of a major shipyard controlled by a state policy bank. "There is no need to sell HMM right now like Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineeri 2022-09-30
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  Hyundai Rotem's hydrogen tram requires four fuel cells and high-power lithium-ion batteries SEOUL -- A hydrogen tram being developed by Hyundai Rotem, a train-making subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, will be equipped with four 95-kilowatt fuel cells, high-power lithium-ion batteries, six hydrogen tanks, and an integrated stack and cooling device. Construction costs are relatively low and external power supply infrastructure is not required. Hyundai Rotem gave an explanation of the technology and development status of hydrogen electric trams at a green 2022-09-30
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  Online fashion store Musinsa nests in Seoul's hottest fashion & trends district SEOUL -- South Korea's popular online apparel store Musinsa has moved its head office to a vibrant fashion district in eastern Seoul that has transformed its shape from a rusty industrial town full of leather and metal workshops operated by veteran craftsmen. The Seongsu area now attracts young fashion and trends enthusiasts. Musinsa is an online fashion mall startup unicorn established in 2003. The company first nested in Apgujeong in southern Seoul 10 years ago when the river 2022-09-30
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  SK siltron makes aggressive investments to gain upper hand in global competition SEOUL -- Undaunted by a global economic slowdown and inflationary pressure weighing down the demand for memory chips, SK siltron, a wafer company affiliated with South Korea's SK Group, is pushing ahead with an aggressive expansion of its production capacity. A wafer is a thin round slice of semiconductor material used for the fabrication of integrated circuits and other devices. Silicon wafers are available in a variety of diameters. The diameter of wafers has gradually incre 2022-09-30
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  Australia and Argentina cited as alternative key material suppliers for S. Korea SEOUL -- Australia is a supplier of important minerals used for electric vehicle batteries and other products in South Korea, but a non-profit trade organization in Seoul suggests that companies should step up efforts to diversify supply lines and avoid risks from their reliance on China. The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said in a report that the proportion of lithium imports from China rose to 59 percent in 2021 from 47 percent a year ago. South Korea's reliance 2022-09-29
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  Cummins partners with KHNP to cooperate in green hydrogen production and utilization SEOUL -- Cummins, a U.S. producer of engines and power generation products, established a strategic partnership with the operator of nuclear power plants in South Korea, to cooperate in the field of green hydrogen production and utilization. They will demonstrate and commercialize water electrolysis facilities that use electricity to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen gas. Under a memorandum of understanding, Cummins and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) will produce gre 2022-09-29
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  Lotte Chemical produces polycarbonate using pyrolysis oil-based naphtha SEOUL -- Lotte Chemical, a major chemical company based in South Korea, has produced polycarbonate, a high-value-added petrochemical product, by using pyrolysis oil-based naphtha made by recycling waste plastic. Polycarbonates are strong, tough materials with many applications. They are easily worked, molded, and thermoformed. Pyrolysis is a chemical recycling process that can convert plastics into high-quality oil using extreme heat and pressure. Recycled oil is processed into me 2022-09-28