Posco Int’l, GS Caltex team up in biofuel push

SOUTH Korean refiner GS Caltex on May 1 said it has teamed up with Posco International, the trading unit of steel giant Posco, to make a big push into the burgeoning biofuel market amid growing calls for emissions cuts globally.

Under the deal, the two firms seek to build an extensive biofuel value chain combining GS Caltex’s manufacturing technology and Posco International’s refinery infrastructure.

As the first step, the two firms agreed to build a biodiesel plant along with refinery facilities in Indonesia, paving the way for their business expansion for next-generation biofuels such as aircraft fuel based on renewable materials.

They also plan to carry out Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, a UN-run scheme allowing countries to fund emissions-reducing projects in other countries, mostly underdeveloped countries, to claim the saved emissions as part of efforts to meet emissions targets at home.

“Through this partnership that aims to expand a biofuel value chain from materials to products, we aim to enhance our global competitiveness in the eco-friendly biofuel business and to contribute to efforts to reduce carbon emissions,” said a GS Caltex official.

Since the launch of biofuel specialist GS Bio back in 2010, GS Caltex has produced an annual 100,000 tonnes of biodiesel, a diesel substitute made from vegetable oils and animal fats.

The firm also produces and sells 2,3butanediol through its own eco-friendly manufacturing technology using non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) biomass and microorganisms.