Clean Energy in Mongolia
POSCO will start developing clean energy in Mongolia with rich resources.
POSCO will work together with Mongolia’s biggest private enterprise, MCS, to start a Coal to Liquid (CTL) business. As of August 25, they are selecting engineers and waiting for government licensing.
POSCO and MCS have been reviewing the business since 2010 and decided it has good value with the help of a feasibility study by Canadian CTL plant engineering company Hatch. They founded the Baganuur Energy Cooperation in May.
CTL is a process of pyrolyzing coal through catalysis using an oxygen system to create a syngas made of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and extracting dimethyl ether (DME). DME is expected to serve as the next eco-friendly fuel to replace fossil fuels, as it is cheaper than liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and less likely to create dust with carbon monoxide.
POSCO will create 100,000 tons of DME and 45,000 tons of diesel annually through this clean energy development project in Mongolia.
POSCO also explained that this project is meaningful since it establishes a bridgehead for resource development in Central Asia by using the abundant low-grade coal from Mongolia, the country with the 10th largest coal deposits. POSCO’s partner MCS is the biggest company in Mongolia in terms of revenue, with wide-ranging business interests in mine development and CTL, construction, real estate, and communication.
Head of POSCO Mongolia office Won Kang-hee said, “POSCO is building a 50,000 ton clean coal synthetic natural gas [SNG] plant in Gwangyang to start running June next year. 75% of the total process is similar to the Mongolia CTL project,” and added, “POSCO has over 10 years of experience in the field.”
The Gwangyang SNG Plant will be built on a 413,223m2 site south of the slag waste dump in the Gwangyang National Industrial Complex.
On the other hand, POSCO will continue to expand its global clean energy plant business through the CTL business in other parts of Mongolia.