Resource recycling company DS Dansuk held the groundbreaking ceremony of its new Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil refinery in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday, the firm said Thursday.

Aiming to finish the construction by next July, the second-generation biodiesel refinery is an extension of the company’s first biodiesel plant in Pyeongtaek. DS Dansuk will invest 35.7 billion won ($27 million) in the construction, the company said.

The ceremony was attended by about 70 employees, including CEO Han Seung-uk.

Once completed, the HVO refinery can produce about 300,000 metric tons of fuel per year while reducing manufacturing and construction costs.

“Starting with the groundbreaking ceremony, we are gaining a foothold in our ultimate goal to construct a refinery producing 500,000 tons of HVO in the next two years,” said Han.

“Adding to our achievement on biodiesel exports, we will continue to secure our presence as the nation’s leading resource recycling firm.”

Amid the ongoing changes in the biodiesel industry, DS Dansuk has also jumped on the HVO bandwagon.

While the traditional first-generation biodiesel has lower quality than regular diesel, the Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil is a fully renewable drop-in diesel alternative that can also be mixed with regular diesel.

Separately, DS Dansuk added it is also boosting high-value-added sectors such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel.