The Future-Oriented Energy Hub 'Ulju Small Giant R&D Special Zone' Project Sets Sail

UNIST Forms Special Zone Development TFT and Establishes Development Center... Operates for 4 Months Starting September

Map of Ulsan Ulju Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The ‘Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone’ project in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, where a secondary battery energy industry hub will be established, is entering its main phase starting this month.

The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), as the core technical institution of the special zone project, launched a special zone promotion TFT on the 21st with the goal of inaugurating the Small Giant Special Zone Promotion Center early next year.

The TFT will oversee the launch of the promotion center, which will drive regional industrial innovation based on UNIST’s research and development capabilities over the next four months.

The UNIST Small Giant Special Zone Promotion TFT is chaired by Vice President Lee Jae-yong. Thirteen members, including the head of the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, the planning director, and internal staff, participate. An external member, the officer in charge of future new industries and ICT convergence at Ulsan City, has been appointed to join this project.

The main task of the Small Giant Special Zone Promotion TFT is to organize the Small Giant Special Zone Promotion Center, which will be launched early next year.

They will form a Small Giant Special Zone promotion council and carry out detailed project planning, target company selection, and technology discovery for the special zone’s development.

Work has also begun to establish an advanced battery demonstration center within the HTV industrial complex.

Chairman Lee Jae-yong said, “The Small Giant Special Zone centered on UNIST will become a foundation for the joint development of universities and local communities,” adding, “We will devote our efforts to enabling the Ulsan Ulju region to leap forward as a hub of energy innovation centered on secondary batteries.”

The Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone is a project designated and promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, newly introduced by the government to foster region-led innovative growth.

Its purpose is to enhance urban and national competitiveness by fostering a convergent, self-sustaining innovative research and development complex that integrates research, residential, industrial, and cultural functions, centered on core institutions with technological capabilities such as universities, research institutes, and public enterprises.

To this end, the government provides annual budgets including technology commercialization funds, and offers financial and administrative support for corporate growth such as corporate tax reductions and regulatory exemptions.

The Ulsan Ulju Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone was newly selected last July, designating UNIST as the core technical institution and specializing in future-type batteries.

The hinterland includes the Bancheon Industrial Complex and the High-Tech Valley Industrial Complex. UNIST plans to support local companies’ technology commercialization capabilities through the exchange of human and material resources and to assist startups by utilizing the private investment platform established within UNIST.

Conceptual Diagram of Ulsan Ulju Small Giant Special Zone Development Strategy.

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