Five Research Projects Underway to Address Carbon Neutrality and Plastic Waste Issues
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Lotte Chemical is establishing a 'Carbon Neutrality Research Center' in collaboration with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), the nation's top scientific talent development institution, to secure future technologies and discover talent for realizing a carbon-neutral society.
On the 25th, Lotte Chemical announced that it held an opening ceremony for the 'Lotte Chemical-KAIST Carbon Neutrality Research Center' at the KAIST Energy and Environment Research Center in Daejeon.
The Lotte Chemical-KAIST Carbon Neutrality Research Center will conduct research on selected tasks including ▲clean hydrogen production through pyrolysis of waste plastics and water electrolysis ▲eco-friendly naphtha production technology ▲liquid organic hydrogen storage and carrier technology ▲optimization of clean hydrogen production costs and reduction of carbon emissions through life cycle assessment (LCA), along with economic feasibility analysis.
To support the research and development of these tasks, Lotte Chemical will invest a total of 2 billion KRW over three years until 2024, and will establish a dedicated research space and install experimental equipment for technology development within KAIST in Daejeon.
Professor Lee Jae-woo of the Department of Bio and Chemical Engineering at KAIST has been appointed as the director of the Carbon Neutrality Research Center. Five faculty members and 23 outstanding master's and doctoral-level talents will participate in the research, and Lotte Chemical’s research executives and researchers will also join as operating committee members.
Hwang Jin-gu, Head of Lotte Chemical's Basic Materials Business, said, "Solving the major challenge of achieving carbon neutrality is difficult by the efforts of a company alone," adding, "Through research and development of eco-friendly core technologies with KAIST’s top research team, we will create two solutions: securing future technologies and discovering talent."
Meanwhile, Lotte Chemical plans to rapidly secure future business capabilities in hydrogen, carbon neutrality, batteries, and bio sectors, in addition to its existing petrochemical business group, by strengthening open innovation research activities with the best domestic and international universities, research institutes, and companies in each field, including this research investment with KAIST, and to promote speedy commercialization.
To this end, Lotte Chemical first transformed the Daejeon Basic Materials Research Institute and Magok Innovation Center from existing division-based organizations into small agile project teams specialized in research by item fields, enabling agile and flexible responses to market changes.
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