Sacramento clean fuel technology company Infinium has received an institutional investment from Korean conglomerate SK Trading International Co. Ltd. to develop its electrofuels for transportation.
The companies didn’t disclose the amount of the investment, but SK Trading is part of Seoul-based SK Group, the second-largest conglomerate in South Korea behind Samsung Group.
“SKTI is excited about the opportunity to support expanding green energy supply opportunities globally through its investment in Infinium to achieve net zero activities,” said Suh Sok-won, CEO of SK Trading, in a news release. “With this investment we aim to support the acceleration of Infinium electrofuels adoption globally."
Infinium uses 100% renewable-sourced electricity along with waste carbon dioxide to make its electrofuel, which is a zero-carbon drop-in replacement for petroleum-sourced diesel.
“We welcome SK to our portfolio of investors and appreciate the confidence they have placed in us as we ramp production of Infinium electrofuels for global markets,” Infinium CEO Robert Schuetzle said in a news release. He didn’t return calls seeking the amount of the investment.
SK Group has subsidiaries in the chipmaking, telecom, energy, petroleum and chemical industries, among others. Combined they have more than $100 billion in revenue.
Last month, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) struck an agreement to use Infinium fuel for its long-haul trucks in operation in Southern California as early as next year. That fuel would be supplied from a plant in Texas. Schuetzle declined to disclose the cost, size, location or capacity of the new plant. Over the past year, Infinium has signed agreements to develop electrofuel plants in France, Japan and Brazoria County, Texas, which is south of Houston.
In November, Infinium raised $69 million to commercialize its process, with lead investors including Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources LLC, the world’s largest renewable energy company, and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.
Infinium is commercializing a process that uses renewable electricity to release hydrogen from water. The company then mixes the hydrogen with waste carbon dioxide to make synthetic diesel. The fuel made in the company's process can be used in existing trucks and ships, as well as for jet fuel.
