Jointly developing a next-generation battery with a Nobel Prize laureate

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SK forest signed a business agreement with the Korea Forest Service (KFS) on July 28 to explore and implement forest development projects in other countries to help Korea meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. Forest-enabled GHG reduction is one of the initiatives specified by the New Climate Regime that imposes GHG reduction obligations on all countries from January, 2021. Developing countries will be required to preserve sustainable forests with financial/technological aid from advanced countries who will then receive carbon offsets, earned by supporting forest preservation projects. The business agreement will allow SK forest and KFS to explore and launch a variety of projects in other countries to prevent deforestation and develop carbon offset forests. The two parties to the agreement will launch a private-public collaboration arrangement to conduct feasibility studies for forest development candidate sites abroad and foster networking with relevant foreign government authorities.

 

 

 

SK innovation has agreed to develop next-generation battery technologies with Prof. John B. Goodenough of the University of Texas at Austin who pioneered the age of lithium-ion battery and won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. SK innovation will work on ‘solid electrolytes’ in collaboration with Prof. Goodenough to implement lithium-metal batteries being touted as one of the next-generation battery solutions. Developing a lithium-metal battery will require to prevent the so-called  dendrite effect known to compromise battery performance and cause battery cells to catch fire or explode. Solid electrolytes are being highlighted as a potential solution to prevent the dendrite effect. Lithium-metal batteries can extend the range of electric vehicles and/or reduce their system weight, requiring less space on an electric vehicle due to their higher energy density than that of contemporary lithium-ion batteries.

 

 

 

SK E & C signed a cooperation agreement with the world’s biggest construction material and tool manufacturer Hilti on July 24 to jointly develop technologies and prospects for new business models. Hilti Group is based in Liechtenstein, posting approximately 7.56 trillion won in revenue as of 2019. SK E & C agreed with Hilti to develop Korea’s first BIM (Building Information Modeling)-enabled smart construction modular technology and prospect for applicable business models. They are currently working on construction materials and modular construction techniques to be used in module fabrication for cutting-edge industrial infrastructure such as semiconductor production plants and EV battery plants. Construction materials and techniques to be developed will be deployed in SK E & C’s project sites in and out of Korea in the second half of this year to upgrade the performance and quality of construction materials saving construction costs by 30% and construction time by 40%. The two companies are also discussing potential incorporation of a joint venture to product and supply construction materials with a view to further facilitating cooperation in developing new business models on a long-term basis.

 

 

 

SK telecom signed a cooperation agreement on a MEC consortium with global IT giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to expedite the penetration of Korea’s 5G MEC (Mobile Edge Computing) technology into the global market. The MEC consortium will bundle MEC-related hardware and software into total package offerings for interested telecom carriers. In the consortium, SK telecom will be in charge of MEC software whereas HPE will be responsible for deploying hardware infrastructure, implementing local marketing initiatives and delivering maintenance services. The MEC consortium will supply MEC packages first to mobile carriers operating in Southeast Asia. They are now negotiating terms and conditions of supply contracts with telecom carriers in Malaysia and Thailand. SK telecom also plans to approach a multitude of telecom carriers in North America as well as Europe, leveraging its global business network.