SK Gas Co., a key energy unit of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate SK Group, said Wednesday it has invested in a US startup that has the original decarbonizing technology to produce clean hydrogen, as part of efforts to advance its transition to clean energy.

SK Gas did not disclose the value of the investment in C-Zero, a California-based tech company, citing the terms of the contract.

C-Zero is known for its methane pyrolysis technology that uses high temperatures to break methane in natural gas down into hydrogen and solid carbon.

The hydrogen extracted in the process is called "turquoise hydrogen," considered a clean energy source along with blue hydrogen and green hydrogen.

SK Gas, whose mainstay business had centered on liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas, has unveiled a 2.2 trillion won ($1.87 billion) investment plan to shift its focus to low-emission businesses, including building a hydrogen complex in the southern city of Ulsan by 2025. (Yonhap)