(Finance) – Eni Sustainable Mobilitysociety of Eni dedicated to biorefining, biomethane production, smart mobility solutions, and LG ChemSouth Korea’s largest chemicals producer, have begun evaluating the development and operation of a new biorefinery at LG Chem’s Daesan chemical complex, 80 kilometers southwest of Seoul, South Korea.
The companies are jointly examining the technical and economic feasibility of the proposed project. There final investment decision is expected by 2024 and the plant could be completed by 2026 within the existing integrated petrochemical complex in Daesan. There new biorefinery it could thus exploit LG Chem’s integrated value chain and the facilities and services present on the industrial site.
The possible biorefinery aims to satisfy the growing demand for more sustainable fuels and plastic materials produced by processes with low carbon emissions, as well as contributing to the progressive decarbonisation of the energy and mobility sectors. The biorefinery could process around 400,000 tonnes of biogenic raw materials per year using Ecofining™ technology developed by Eni in collaboration with Honeywell UOP. It will also have the flexibility to process renewable feedstocks to produce several products, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil) biofuel and bio-naphtha.
LG Chem and Eni will combine their expertise in this project.
Committed to producing more sustainable chemicals, LG Chem will leverage its knowledge and resources to ensure the success of the project. LG Chem has been producing eco-friendly plastics using bio-naphtha since 2020. In April 2021, it was the first South Korean chemical company to receive ISCC Plus certification for nine Bio-Circular Balanced products. Four months later, LG Chem began shipping its first biobalanced SAP (Super Absorbent Polymer) products – also ISCC Plus certified – to overseas markets. In October 2022, LG Chem expanded its ISCC Plus certified product portfolio to over 50 items, confirming its commitment to ever-increasing sustainability. LG Chem will now work closely with Eni to increase the visibility of its eco-friendly integrated brand LETZero.
Eni will bring its extensive experience in biorefining to the project, in addition to the proprietary Ecofining™ technology. In 2014, Eni achieved the world’s first conversion of a refinery into a biorefinery in Porto Marghera, Venice, followed by a second reconverted biorefinery in Gela (Sicily) in 2019. In June 2023, Eni entered into a joint venture with PBF Energy by acquiring the 50% of the St. Bernard Renewables LLC biorefinery in Louisiana (USA) also based on the use of Ecofining technology. Furthermore, Eni, leveraging its global experience and knowledge of procurement, will supply the South Korean biorefinery with sustainable raw materials composed mainly of waste and residues from the processing of vegetable oils and used cooking oil, as well as vegetable oils from resistant crops to drought in degraded, semi-arid or abandoned land, not in competition with the food chain.