[Special Stock] ChemTros, Starting Point for Carbon Neutrality and Technological Independence... 'Love Call' for Domestic Production of Core Materials

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Kemtros is showing strong performance. The seriousness of climate issues has been highlighted due to COVID-19, and it appears that news about major countries' climate change response policies accelerating the transition to an eco-friendly, low-carbon economy is influencing stock prices.

As of 10 a.m. on the 30th, Kemtros is trading at 7,780 KRW, up 16.29% from the previous day.

The EU and the United States are promoting and reviewing the introduction of a carbon border tax that imposes tariffs based on the amount of carbon emissions generated during the production of imported goods as part of their climate change response policies. The International Trade Team of the investigative agency analyzed the impact on our exports by scenario, dividing it into the 'basic scenario (USD 50 per ton)' where the EU and the US impose the carbon border tax, and the 'reduced scenario' where the carbon border tax is reduced (USD 35 per ton). Under the basic scenario, if the EU and the US introduce the carbon border tax, our exports are estimated to decrease by 0.5% annually (median value, hereinafter the same, about USD 3.2 billion) due to the EU's introduction, and by 0.6% (about USD 3.9 billion) due to the US's introduction.

The research team suggested, "Since major countries are promoting Green New Deal policies for the transition to an eco-friendly economy, it is necessary for our companies to utilize this as an opportunity to discover new growth engines and expand markets in the future."

Kemtros is developing CCU technology that captures carbon dioxide and converts it into ethylene carbonate. Currently, in Korea, ethylene carbonate is produced by companies such as Lotte Chemical and Green Chemical by importing overseas source technology. Ethylene carbonate is used not only as a solvent and raw material for fibers, polymer oils, and synthetic resins but also as a raw material for electrolytes in secondary batteries and fuel cells.

The process developed by Kemtros is evaluated as an eco-friendly method because it converts greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into useful compounds, thereby reducing carbon dioxide while generating no wastewater or by-products from the process. The new catalyst technology is expected to have a significant ripple effect as it can also be applied to the production of alkylene carbonates such as propylene carbonate, butylene carbonate, and styrene carbonate. According to related industries, the market size is estimated at 400 billion KRW domestically and 4 to 6 trillion KRW globally.

Expectations are also growing for the mass production of perfluorosulfonic acid ionomers, a key material for hydrogen fuel cells. When the solid form of the material is dissolved in a solvent and goes through drying and film-forming processes, a thin electrolyte membrane is created. The electrolyte membrane allows hydrogen ions to pass through inside the fuel cell and react with oxygen. Since hydrogen vehicles operate on the principle of generating electricity and emitting water through the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the fuel cell, the perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer electrolyte membrane is a core material of the fuel cell.

In 2018, the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology developed the perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer synthesis technology for the first time domestically, succeeded in commercializing the production process, and transferred the technology to Kemtros. From the first half of next year, they plan to produce 100 tons annually of perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer. Domestic and overseas related companies, including membrane electrode assembly (MEA) manufacturers and stack manufacturers, are showing interest. Since ionomers are produced by multinational companies with proprietary technology, this material is important from the perspective of technological independence.