European industries recognize SK chemicals' groundbreaking circular recycling technology. SK chemicals (CEO Ahn Jae-hyun) announced on the 29th that it participated as a presenter at the Plastic Industry & Environment Congress 2024, held in Douai, France from the 22nd to the 23rd.
The Plastic Industry & Environment Congress is an annual event organized by the French Society of Plastics Engineers (SFIP), bringing together plastic material producers, plastic manufacturers, recycling companies, and brand owners from various industries to discuss solutions for building a circular economy.
This year's Plastic Industry & Environment Congress featured participation and technology presentations from leading chemical companies worldwide, including SK chemicals, EASTMAN, and SABIC.
Although SK chemicals established its European subsidiary in 2008 and has been targeting the European market, this is the first time it has officially participated as a presenter at an event held by a plastic association. This shows SK chemicals' recent focus on its recycling business is gathering interest in the EU region that leads the regulatory trends.
On the first day of the congress, SK chemicals presented its recycling solutions in a session with its European client Albis, highlighting the superiority of its unique circular recycling technology.
Circular recycling is the term for SK chemicals' proprietary chemical recycling process. Unlike physical recycling which involves shredding and cleaning waste plastic to reuse as raw material for plastic, chemical recycling breaks down plastic to a molecular level, allowing it to be reused infinitely without quality degradation, e.g., maintaining transparency.
In March of last year, SK chemicals acquired the chemical recycling and chemically recycled PET business assets of Shuye, a Chinese green materials specialist, for approximately 130 billion won, establishing SK Shantou. This enabled SK chemicals to acquire the world's first commercialized raw material and production facilities for polyester chemical recycling.
In its presentation, SK chemicals also introduced its portfolio of materials, combining rapid commercialization facility development with its experience in applying circular recycling technology. SKYPET CR, a PET material with circular recycling technology, and ECOTRIA CLARO CR, a recyclable copolyester classified as post-consumer PET, were introduced, drawing attention from the attendees.
SK chemicals plans to diversify its collaborations with industry stakeholders based on the recognized excellence of its circular recycling technology.
Kim Eung-soo, head of the Green Materials Business Division at SK chemicals, said, "Global brand owners are showing great interest in using circular recycling materials. We plan to actively promote and provide SK chemicals' recycling solutions and develop customized eco-friendly products with our clients."
