Gwangju City Announces Call for New Technology Projects in Eco-Friendly Auto Parts

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 12th that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is conducting a call for proposals for the ‘New Technology Tasks for Eco-friendly Automotive Parts’ to support automobile companies in producing eco-friendly parts, securing technological competitiveness, and establishing the foundation for the ‘Eco-friendly Automotive Parts Cluster Development Project.’

This call for proposals will select companies and lead institutions to carry out new technology tasks for 2020 through the dedicated agency, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The call includes 17 tasks in four strategic development areas for eco-friendly parts: ▲electric vehicle powertrain technology ▲lightweight and parts production technology ▲high-efficiency electric components and optical application electronic technology ▲high value-added special-purpose vehicle technology.

Applicants must be small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or mid-sized companies, with at least one company having a business site in ‘Gwangju City’ participating in the consortium.

Applications can be submitted online by downloading the form from the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) website by the 25th of this month.

Companies that submit business plans will be evaluated by a review committee, and once finally selected, they will sign agreements and receive project funds next month.

Selected companies will receive a total of 12 billion KRW in national funding and will proceed with task development until next year.

Gwangju City expects that as local parts companies participate in technology development tasks, their parts technology development capabilities will improve, and the outcomes will lead to business activation through commercialization.

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the AI Industry Bureau of the city, said, “In a situation where new investments by companies are difficult due to COVID-19, this call for proposals will serve as a foundation for new product development and commercialization,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure the early normalization of parts companies.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Leading Technology Support Center and Global Business Center,’ being constructed in the Bitgreen Industrial Complex to support local automotive companies, is currently 18% complete and is scheduled for completion in May next year.

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