SF Marina provides tailor-made, premium marinas and advanced floating solutions around the world. The company has in-house knowledge and experience to design, permit, manufacture, install, and operate marinas and floating villages. SF Marina’s floating concrete pontoon marina system has withstood the test of time and forces of nature since 1918.

SF Marina’s pledge to build a carbon-zero floating village has investments from SF Marina Group (i.e., foreign investment from South Korea’s perspective) and partnerships with Korean conglomerates.

The concept of carbon zero in this sense is to produce the energy that is consumed within the village, or energy self-sufficiency. The technology is available and can be applied with several examples in Sweden, e.g., storing energy during summer to use during winter. Being energy self-sufficient also means that the village does not have to be connected to the energy grid. This enables the village to be built on water like an island. Building such a carbon-zero village on a floating structure can have less impact on the environment since it does not disturb the marine ecosystem, compared to building on land.

Due to Korea’s positive regulatory policy, off-grid storage of energy and offshore housing is not allowed. To be more precise, South Korea lacks relevant regulations and permits.

In 2019, South Korea introduced the regulatory sandbox program, a policy initiative that allows time-bound testing of new solutions under government oversight without having to change the related regulations or laws. The Carbon NetZero floating village may or may not apply in the sandbox program, so SF Marina is communicating with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport; and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to find the responsible regulatory body. SF Marina is hoping for support from the Ministry of Environment as it supports Carbon NetZero 2050.

The project will be conducted in collaboration with Korean partners and with mostly local production. Hence, it will contribute to the competence and capacity building of Korean companies, becoming the basis for cooperation between Sweden and Korean companies abroad. Waterfront tourist destinations and developing countries with limited infrastructure for energy supply can be possible business expansion opportunities through a partnership with Korean conglomerates.

After Korea’s NetZero commitment, SF Marina has felt a difference in the interest and commitment to environmentally friendly solutions among their business partners.