Hanwha TotalEnergies Petrochemical Co. said Thursday it has completed the construction of a pilot line to produce a high functional copolymer used in industrial components like car parts and wire coating.

The pilot facility, located in Daesan, about 83 kilometers south of Seoul, will produce polyolefin elastomers and conduct various tests on the processing needed for the manufacturing of the material, the company said in a release.

Hanwha TotalEnergies, the 50:50 joint venture between South Korea's Hanwha Group and France's TotalEnergies S.E., has invested 34 billion won ($26 million) for the pilot factory, with an aim to produce some 200 tons of POEs a year.

POE is a type of high functional plastic material known for its flexibility, like rubber, yet with the toughness of plastic. It is applied to automotive interiors and exteriors, wire and cable coating, films, medical products and others.

POE is also gaining attention for its use in solar panel films. Hanwha has its key solar panel unit Hanwha Solutions Corp. under its wing. (Yonhap)