The South Korea Petrochemical Industry: Challenges and Opportunities Towards Carbon Neutrality

South Korea the petrochemical industry, as an important pillar of the manufacturing industry, providing basic chemical materials for the automotive, electronics, fiber and other industries. The industry occupies a significant position in both GDP and exports, and its ethylene production capacity ranks fourth in the world, with an annual output of 9.82 million tons.

facing the global economic crisis in 2021, the South Korea petrochemical industry has shown strong growth momentum. In the first half of the year, sales rose 39.2 per cent year-on-year to 42.7 trillion won, while operating income also accounted for 16.6 per cent, or 7.1 trillion won. This growth was mainly due to the rise in international oil prices, the surge in Chinese demand and the disruption of global supply chains. However, the outlook for 2022 is full of variables, especially the recovery of Chinese demand will directly affect global economic growth and demand for petrochemicals.

to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 40% reduction in national greenhouse gases by 2030. As the industry with the second largest carbon emissions, the industry's average annual carbon emissions continue to rise by about 4% while demand increases and equipment investment expands. Nevertheless, the South Korea petrochemical community is actively setting its own carbon-neutral targets and accelerating carbon-neutral growth. The government also needs to introduce decisive support policies to cope with the burden of carbon materials and carbon border taxes that may arise in the future.

With the popularity of the global ESG concept, the United States, Europe and other major countries are vigorously developing the white biological industry to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises. In order to promote ESG investment, South Korea launched the "Korean Green Classification System (K-Taxonomy)" and developed relevant benchmarks to assess the suitability of environmentally friendly economic activities. At the same time, the government also plans to promote bioplastics demonstration projects and biological-based new-generation material technology, and actively support the initial market of the white biological industry.

: new opportunities

The white bio-industry, which combines biotechnology in the carbon-based chemical industry, provides new cooperation opportunities for bio-enterprises and chemical enterprises. The government aims to promote the development of this emerging industry through the efforts of rules and policies, support policies, institutional guarantees, R & D support, infrastructure construction and personnel training. The white bio-industry not only helps to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, but also creates new growth points for enterprises.