GS Caltex: Focus on Green Management

Signs agreement to jointly build a super-capacitor plant with a Japanese company

Early this year, GS Caltex Chairman Hur Dong-soo visited the New Energy Research Center in Seongnae-dong, Seoul, in which he was briefed on the status of research on such projects as fuel cells and thin film batteries, after which he immediately called a management meeting. Hur's selection of the research center as his first field visit of the year reflects his keen concern for the refinery's pending task of exploring its new growth engines: developing new and renewable energy sources, company officials and industrial analysts said.
GS Caltex newest buzzword is "green management," which is designed to place top-priority on its commitment to preserving the environment while fostering new and renewable energy sources as its next-generation growth engines.
Korea's second largest refinery is focusing on the development of fuel cells for both households and commercial facilities by capitalizing on the expertise related to fuel cells the company has so far accumulated, while striving to expand such business areas as hydrogen fueling stations for fuel cell vehicles. The company has succeeded in yielding tangible results in research of carbon materials, key components of electrical double layer capacitors (EDLC), also known as super capacitors, a kind of second battery, and yeasts for producing biobutanol, considered one of the next-generation bio-fuels.
GS Fuel Cell, a GS Caltex subsidiary specializing in fuel cell research, is picking up speed in the implementation of such new and renewable energy projects as a 50kW-class fuel cell system for use in large-size buildings and apartments, a 1kW-class fuel cell for households and a 3kW-class fuel cell for combined cycle power plants.
In a related development, GS Caltex inked an agreement with Japan's top oil firm, Nippon Oil Corp., to set up a joint venture, Power Carbon Technology, to turn out carbon materials for high-end energy storage devices.
The deal calls for the two companies to jointly invest a combined $10 million to build an EDLC plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The plant will begin making super capacitors in April 2010 to power hybrid electric vehicles, company officials said.
Earlier, the GS group announced an aggressive business strategy designed to realize a mid-term vision by 2010 despite the current economic downturn.
The group said it decided to set aside 2.3 trillion won in investments for 2009, nearly a 10 percent increase over the 2.1 trillion won the group invested during 2008, in order to concentrate on its mainstay businesses including the energy sector. Even if the business situation gets worse, this is designed to shore up its growth potential by continuing to make investments into upgrading facilities.
In particular, 1.7 trillion won will be funneled into GS Caltex's project to construct the No.3 Heavy Oil Upgrade facility, overseas petroleum exploration projects and GS PES's energy projects.
In order to build up a solid foundation for growth in the energy sector, GS Holdings, the holding company of the GS Group, and GS Caltex will play central roles in implementing projects to explore crude oil mining fields overseas.
GS Caltex will continue to make investments in overseas petroleum exploration projects with the goal of securing crude oil equivalent to 10 percent of its refining capacity through overseas petroleum exploration. nw

GS Caltex Chairman Hur Dong-soo gestures during his recent inspection tour to the New Energy Research Center in Seoul.