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Press ReleasesJanuary 16, 2009
Press Releases
Regarding conclusion of a capacitor electrodes carbon materials business joint venture agreement with GS Caltex Corporation
January 16, 2009
PRESS RELEASE
Nippon Oil Corporation (President: Shinji Nishio), is pleased to announce that today we concluded a joint-venture agreement with GS Caltex Corporation (Head office: Seoul City, Republic of Korea, Chairman: Dong-soo Hur) relating to capacitor electrodes carbon materials.
A capacitor is an electric potential storage device, which enables formerly unharnessed energy to be used efficiently by storing it as electricity, in construction machinery and railways, where a vast amount of energy is required instantaneously. Furthermore, we expect the range of applications will expand in the future to encompass electric potential storage for solar and wind power generation.
Carbon materials used in electrodes are the key materials in determining the quality of the capacitor. We have been manufacturing carbon materials (needle coke*) for electric furnace electrodes used in steel companies at our Marifu refinery, and have achieved worldwide recognition for high quality, with a global share of more than 10% (or a global share of more than 50% if limited to highest quality carbon materials for fat graphite electrodes).
Having developed carbon materials for capacitor electrodes by making use of our experience in carbon materials, we have decided to carry out a joint venture, which is to manufacture carbon materials for capacitor electrodes using coke produced at Marifu refinery as a raw material, by establishing a joint venture company in Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea with GS Caltex, a company which has also been developing high quality carbon materials.
We plan to start constructing the production facility this spring, with the aim of commencing business at the joint venture in April 2010.
We will continue to develop environmentally friendly technology and products actively, under our group philosophy of, “creating the energy future and promoting prosperity and harmony with nature.”
* Needle coke is derived from coke (carbonaceous solid residual when heating heavy oil) heated and developed into needle-like crystals. It is used as aggregate for electric furnaces electrodes which recycle iron from scrap iron.