KEPCO and Power Group Companies Promote Development of Intelligent Digital Power Plants

Installation of 'Intelligent Digital Power Plant Construction Center' at the Power Research Institute on the 12th
Promotion of 'Intelligent Digital Power Plant' technology development with power group companies by 2023
Establishment of an energy technology market platform to support SMEs within this year

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) announced on the 12th that it held the "Intelligent Digital Power Plant Construction Center Opening Ceremony" at KEPCO's Power Research Institute in Daejeon.

KEPCO and its power generation subsidiaries, along with other power group companies, established the "Digital Power Plant Construction Center" at the Power Research Institute.

A joint research and development team, composed of the institute's researchers and technical personnel from participating group companies, is promoting the development of digital power plant technologies.

The event was attended by Ahn Il-hwan, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, who encouraged efforts to achieve results in the large-scale innovation growth project of jointly building digital power plants by public institutions.

KEPCO President Kim Jong-gap, executives from power generation companies and other power group companies, as well as presidents and executives from 13 public institutions including Korea District Heating Corporation and Korea Energy Agency, also attended. They pledged to establish cooperative relationships for the development of digital power plants.

The opening ceremony proceeded in the order of presentations on the current status of digital transformation promotion, achievements in digital power technology development, plans for promoting the energy technology market, and demonstrations of intelligent diagnostic technology installed at the Digital Power Plant Construction Center and the Digital Twin Center.

The "Intelligent Digital Power Plant Development Project," led by KEPCO since April 2017, was selected in October 2018 as a large-scale collaborative innovation growth project by the Ministry of Economy and Finance for public institutions.

Since May of last year, power group companies have participated in joint research and development to demonstrate and commercialize digital power plants.

KEPCO is promoting the establishment of a standard platform in the power generation sector that can be used collectively by power group companies, based on its self-developed digital platform technology.

They are also developing power plant operation, diagnosis, and prediction programs using big data and artificial intelligence technologies.

Currently, four diagnostic programs have been developed, and development of 12 additional programs is underway. These will be installed at power plant sites for demonstration starting at the end of next year.

Based on the developed technologies, KEPCO is pursuing the acquisition of 37 patents. Through technology transfer, it plans to foster startup companies and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), contributing to revitalizing the power industry ecosystem.

KEPCO expects that applying artificial intelligence and big data technologies to power plants through this project will enable the identification of optimal operating conditions and maintenance timing.

In addition to industrial innovation effects such as improved power generation efficiency and accident prevention, it is also expected to reduce fine dust and carbon dioxide emissions.

It may also contribute to the creation of high-quality jobs combining power generation technology and information and communication technology (ICT).

The project will accelerate the reduction of import dependence on energy transition components such as turbines and pumps and enable application to various industrial platforms like smart factories.

KEPCO estimates that by 2026, utilizing the developed digital power technologies will generate approximately 500 billion KRW in economic benefits through import substitution of power equipment (components) and new revenue creation via technology exports.

Meanwhile, KEPCO reported that it plans to establish an "Energy Technology Market" by October.

The technology market is a platform designed to support SMEs that have technological capabilities but face difficulties supplying to public institutions and lack marketing capacity to enter overseas markets.

This platform will provide and share information on required technologies from energy public institutions and the technologies possessed by SMEs in a one-stop manner.

KEPCO, six power generation companies, and 12 public institutions in the energy sector will collaborate to build this platform.

In his congratulatory speech, Vice Minister Ahn emphasized, "With the advent of a global energy paradigm shift and the era of convergence and fusion technologies, the government and public institutions must play a role in helping SMEs secure technological competitiveness."

President Kim expressed in his commemorative speech, "The Energy Technology Market will serve as a win-win development model providing excellent technologies to public institutions and a platform for technology promotion to SMEs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.