Ulleungdo-Dokdo Seawater Resource Project Opens ... Gyeongbuk Province-UNIST 'Research Agreement'

Introduction of Seawater Battery Technology ... Marine Science Institute and Others Collaborate on Marine Weather Observation

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do signed a business agreement on the 22nd in Ulleungdo with the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) Seawater Resource Technology Research Center and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology Ulleungdo-Dokdo Marine Research Station (Commander Kim Yoon-bae) for joint research.

Through this business agreement, the institutions plan to actively cooperate in research, including mutual collaboration, joint use of research equipment and facilities, and academic exchanges, to promote the development and utilization of seawater resource technology in the Ulleungdo-Dokdo area and create new marine industries in the East Sea Rim region.

The UNIST Seawater Resource Technology Research Center, supported by the government and Ulsan City, has secured core technology for seawater batteries that store and generate electricity using sodium ions in seawater. Based on this, marine-specialized batteries, energy-independent GPS buoys for fishing nets, and seawater desalination devices developed have high applicability in the marine environment and are expected to be utilized in various fields such as marine science research in the Ulleungdo-Dokdo waters and ICT-based fisheries resource development.

Ulleungdo and Dokdo are regions in Korea with the fewest clear days, and the amount of sunlight in winter is significantly low, making it very difficult to operate marine weather observation buoys that rely on solar cells during the winter season.

The Ulleungdo-Dokdo Marine Research Station was established in 2013 in Ulleungdo by Gyeongbuk Province and Ulleung County to protect marine territorial sovereignty over Dokdo and secure a research base for marine resource development in the Ulleung area. Since 2014, the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology has been entrusted with its operation, managing real-time marine observation buoys and surface cage aquaculture facilities in the Ulleungdo-Dokdo waters.

Kim Nam-il, Head of the East Sea Rim Regional Headquarters of Gyeongbuk Province, stated, "We will accelerate the creation of new marine industries in the East Sea Rim region by revitalizing seawater resource research and field application in the Ulleungdo-Dokdo waters, protecting Dokdo through science."

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