Climate Tech Innovation: Building a Sustainable Future with Global Partners
Introduction: The Role of Process Industries in the Climate Crisis Era
The climate crisis is no longer a future possibility but a reality we face today. As global carbon neutrality goals demand fundamental changes across all industries, the chemical, bio, and energy process industries stand at the center—both as major sources of carbon emissions and as key sectors capable of delivering sustainable solutions.Since its inception, SIMACRO has placed sustainability at its core, collaborating with global industry leaders on diverse climate tech projects since 2018. Through digital twin technology and process modeling, SIMACRO has been providing concrete and practical solutions for achieving carbon neutrality.SIMACRO's customer projects span all major areas of climate technology: CO₂ capture, clean hydrogen production, and circular economy development. This journey represents SIMACRO's commitment to sustainable industrial transformation and a record of technological challenges toward a sustainable future.
The Journey Toward Carbon Neutrality Through Process Innovation
Achieving carbon neutrality requires advanced technologies in carbon reduction and energy efficiency. SIMACRO continues to drive innovation with global partners across the full spectrum of carbon capture solutions—from Direct Air Capture (DAC) to next-generation capture systems such as Rotating Packed Beds (RPB), as well as the technical assessment of new absorbent and adsorbent.
1. Direct Air Capture (DAC)
Direct Air Capture technology, which extracts CO₂ directly from ambient air, plays a critical and increasingly promising role in achieving carbon neutrality. Beyond capturing emissions from industrial sources, DAC offers the potential for net negative outcomes by removing CO₂ already accumulated in the atmosphere.SIMACRO participated in Company G (USA)’s Moonshot Project as a modeling specialist, contributing to process integration and energy efficiency optimization studies for DAC systems. By developing an integrated modeling framework that coupled vacuum desorption with low-grade waste heat recovery, SIMACRO helped identify pathways to reduce energy intensity, a key barrier to DAC commercialization.
2. Next-Generation CO₂ Capture Unit (Rotating Packed Bed, RPB)
Conventional CO₂ capture processes require large absorption towers that require considerable installation space and high capital cost. In contrast, Rotating Packed Bed (RPB) technology utilizes centrifugal force to significantly enhance mass transfer rates, delivering equivalent performance within a much smaller footprint, positioning it as a highly promising next-generation capture technology.SIMACRO collaborated with Company B (USA) on process modeling and optimization of RPB CO₂ capture units. This partnership evaluated two design configurations differing in the flow orientation between the emission stream and the solvent stream—one adopting a two-dimensional cross-flow and the other a one-dimensional counter-current arrangement.Additionally, SIMACRO is collaborating with Company E (USA) on a RPB modeling project aimed at scaling a lab-scale CO₂ capture process, based on Company E (USA)’s newly developed solvent, to pilot scale.This collaboration showcases SIMACRO’s digital engineering expertise in bridging laboratory research and industrial application through advanced process modeling.
3. Development of Advanced Solvents and CO₂ Capture Materials
The efficiency and economics of CO₂ capture processes depend on the performance of solvents and adsorbents, as well as the effectiveness of the process design. In collaboration with global partners developing new capture media, SIMACRO applies advanced process modeling to evaluate solvent and adsorbent performance, assess regeneration energy requirements, and optimize process integration for scalable, energy-efficient CO₂ capture.SIMACRO has collaborated with leading companies across the world including Company K (Japan), Company N (Switzerland), and Company I (UK), on modeling and validation studies to support the commercialization of next-generation CO₂ capture technologies.In the project with Company K (Japan) , SIMACRO applied Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) to develop a two-dimensional simulation model that reproduces actual equipment behavior to address limitations of conventional counter-current flow arrangement, validates operational stability and process efficiency using pilot-scale experimental data.These collaborative efforts exemplify SIMACRO’s role as a digital-engineering partner, bridging laboratory research and pilot-scale validation through advanced process modeling and simulation, and accelerating the industrial implementation of innovative carbon-capture materials.
Clean Hydrogen: Opening the Era of Energy Innovation
Beyond reducing carbon emissions, advancing green and blue hydrogen production technologies represents a core challenge in achieving sustainable energy transformation. SIMACRO has developed extensive expertise in process modeling for design optimization and digital twin for operational optimization, spanning the full spectrum of clean hydrogen production—from electrolyzer system modeling to renewable energy-based green hydrogen and SMR-based blue hydrogen processes.
1. Electrolyzer Systems: Steady-State and Dynamic Modeling
Water electrolysis is the core technology for clean hydrogen production, where maintaining stable operation despite intermittent and variable renewable energy power supply is critical.SIMACRO collaborated with Company A, a leading Japanese chemical and materials company, and Company T, a Korean clean-energy technology firm, on steady-state and dynamic modeling of alkaline electrolyzer systems. In the joint project with Company A (Japan), SIMACRO utilized Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) to develop digital twin models for key process equipment - including electrolyzers, separators, gas coolers, and circulation loops.The models enabled detailed validation of electrolyzer performance for H₂/O₂ production with respect to current density changes, pressure control, and energy efficiency. Using a dynamic model incorporating PID control logic, SIMACRO verified that stable hydrogen production can be maintained even under fluctuating renewable energy supply conditions.
2. Green Hydrogen (Green H₂): Electrolysis Processes using Renewable Energy Sources
Green H2 is hydrogen produced using renewable energy sources like solar, wind, or hydropower through electrolysis. Although green H2 is widely regarded as one of the most promising pathways toward achieving carbon neutrality, its large-scale adoption remains technologically and economically challengingHowever, the intermittency and variability of renewable power generation poses significant challenges to the stable and efficient operation of electrolyzer systems, making advanced modeling and online digital twin technologies indispensable.SIMACRO collaborated with Company S (Korea) to develop an alkaline electrolyzer process model for green hydrogen plant design. To ensure stable hydrogen production under renewable energy conditions with time-varying power generation, such as solar and wind, SIMACRO developed a steady-state simulation framework capable of accurately calculating hydrogen yield and energy efficiency based on time-dependent power input. This work laid the technical groundwork for future large-scale green hydrogen plant online digital twin development.
3. Blue Hydrogen (Blue H₂): SMR-Based Hydrogen Production & CCUS Integrated Processes
Blue hydrogen combines natural gas reforming (SMR: Steam Methane Reforming) with carbon capture and storage (CCS/CCUS) technologies, providing a realistic pathway for large-scale hydrogen supply while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is widely regarded as a practical bridging solution in the transition toward green hydrogen, achieving both economic viability and environmental performance by leveraging existing natural gas infrastructure and maintaining high carbon capture efficiency.SIMACRO collaborated with Company H (Korea) to develop a digital twin model for blue hydrogen processes using natural gas (CH₄) as the feedstock. The integrated model encompasses the entire process chain—from Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) reactions converting methane into hydrogen, through Water Gas Shift (WGS) reactions, to Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) purification processes—while incorporating dynamic simulation capabilities to analyze system response under real-time operational variations. This serves as a critical tool for optimizing blue hydrogen plant design and ensuring stable, efficient operation.
Global Collaboration toward a Circular Economy
Responding to the climate crisis requires more than reducing carbon emissions- it demands a transition toward a Circular Economy that maximizes resource circulation and utilization.SIMACRO is participating as a partner in the EU Horizon Europe program's CIRCBIO-01 (Circular Bioeconomy) project, led by a European consortium and coordinated by LUT University in Finland. Within this initiative, SIMACRO contributes to the development of digital platforms and the establishment of technical assessment criteria for realizing bio-based circular business models.This project presents a joint effort between European academia and industry to accelerate the circular economy, where SIMACRO provides a process modeling and digital twin framework to quantitatively evaluate resource circulation efficiency.As one of the few Korean companies participating in a European-led circular economy initiative, SIMACRO’s involvement reflects the growing international recognition of its digital engineering expertise.
Evolution of Innovative Processes and Energy Technologies
Sustainable energy transformation depends on breakthrough process technologies that overcome the limitations of existing infrastructure. SIMACRO has conducted confidential R&D projects in collaboration with leading global institutions and companies including the U.S. Department of Energy, Company S (USA), Company H (USA), and Company N (USA).In collaboration with Company H (USA), SIMACRO developed process models for methanol synthesis from CO₂ and natural gas using Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). By implementing an Aspen Plus-based digital twin model to analyze thermal energy storage efficiency and performance variations during scale-up, SIMACRO demonstrated the commercial feasibility of solar-based chemical fuel production.
Climate Tech Expertise Recognized Through Global Investment
SIMACRO's climate tech expertise has been recognized by global impact investors. In September 2025, SIMACRO secured impact investment from D3 Jubilee Partners, recognizing the company as a specialized leader in climate tech innovation.D3 Jubilee Partners is a first-generation impact venture capital firm established in 2011, focusing investments on addressing climate change and urgent social challenges. The firm invests in innovative sustainability startups across frontier markets including Korea, Silicon Valley, and Africa.This investment represents more than financial capital - it reflects an objective assessment of the technical excellence and social impact potential embodied in SIMACRO's diverse climate technology initiatives.
Conclusion: The Role of Digital Transformation for Sustainable Industry
Building a sustainable industrial ecosystem requires more than new technologies—it demands a digital foundation that enables intelligence, adaptability, and continuous optimization. The transformation toward sustainability begins with how industries design, simulate, and manage their processes in the digital domain and evolves through real-time operational optimization.SIMACRO’s core competency lies in advanced modeling and simulation, integrated with data management, contextualization, data analysis, and AI Agent technologies that enable intelligent operational decision-making in real-time.As governments and industries accelerate large-scale investment toward carbon neutrality, the convergence of process engineering and digital intelligent operation is emerging as the key driver of industrial innovation. This integration empowers industries to reduce carbon emissions, minimize resource waste, and improve overall energy efficiency—paving the way for a circular and low-carbon economy.Leveraging its proven expertise in global collaborations and digital engineering, SIMACRO aims to lead the digital transformation of process industries—bridging the gap between physical process assets and intelligent digital systems to enable real-time optimization.Under its vision of ‘realizing a sustainable future through digital twin technology’, SIMACRO continues to pioneer innovation that turns sustainability into engineered reality.
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With headquarters in Boston and Seoul, SIMACRO has completed over 90 commercial modeling projects across 40 companies since 2018. Collaborating with global technology leaders such as AspenTech, Emerson, and OLI, SIMACRO is committed to advancing digital innovation in the process industry.About SIMACRODesigner