[2021 Green Mobility Awards] SK Jonghap Chemical to Expand Eco-friendly Product Share to 70% by 2025

Technology Award (Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award) Winner

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] SK General Chemical is promoting an eco-friendly strategy called ‘Green for Better Life,’ which integrates the positive functions of chemical products with ‘green (environmentally friendly)’ to achieve sustainable growth by enhancing the quality of human life in an eco-friendly way. The goal is to expand the proportion of eco-friendly products from the current 20% level to over 70% by 2025.

The expansion of high-performance eco-friendly products also stems from this initiative. In particular, SK General Chemical is developing eco-friendly plastic materials used for automotive interior and exterior parts that can significantly reduce plastic usage, leading efforts to reduce plastic globally through product production and supply, thereby taking the lead in creating eco-friendly social value.

The high-performance plastics produced by SK General Chemical are eco-friendly products that can reduce usage by about 10% compared to general-purpose plastics, allowing a medium-sized car to be made lighter by up to 10 kg.

When a car becomes lighter, fuel efficiency improves, which in turn reduces emissions. Using SK General Chemical’s eco-friendly materials improves vehicle fuel efficiency by approximately 2.8%, and reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), the main causes of air pollution, by 4.5% and 8.8%, respectively.

SK General Chemical has led the market by producing about 150,000 tons, or approximately 40% of its total polypropylene production, as high-crystallinity polypropylene, which is also used as a raw material for high-performance plastics. As a result, it has maintained the number one market share in both the domestic and Chinese markets for nearly 10 years. With the automotive plastics market expected to grow sharply by more than 8% annually, demand for high-performance products is projected to increase further, suggesting that SK General Chemical’s market share will continue to expand.

Meanwhile, SK General Chemical showcased innovative products such as ultra-lightweight and eco-friendly vehicle interior materials at the CES event held last year in Las Vegas, USA.