Jung "Development of 15 Types of Bioplastics... Support for 5-Year Demonstration Project"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that it will develop 15 types of bio-plastics (replacing chemical materials with bio such as microorganisms) to solve the plastic waste problem and foster the 'White Bio' industry.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Hong Nam-ki announced the 'White Bio Industry Activation Strategy' with this content at the '5th Innovation Growth Strategy Meeting' held on the 3rd.

Deputy Prime Minister Hong said, "We will develop 15 types of bio-plastic products, such as packaging materials, that can be commercialized in the short term to develop and distribute bio-plastics," and added, "We will also implement demonstration projects targeting food containers and volume-based waste bags to create demand."

The 'White Bio Industry Activation Strategy' is one of the series of measures among the 10 core tasks presented by the pan-government Bio Innovation TF.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the main ministry in charge, selected three major promotion strategies: ▲realizing a circular economy through bio-plastic development and distribution ▲increasing the added value of white bio and strengthening the value chain ▲establishing a foundation for forming an industrial group.

First, to increase development and distribution, support will be provided for material productization and discovery of new materials necessary for developing 'biodegradable bio-plastics.'

This method synthesizes with microorganisms, and from this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will prioritize supporting product development, and from 2022, it will concurrently support next-generation material development projects.

To expand the market, a biodegradable bio-plastic demonstration project will be promoted from this year until 2024. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will support it, and SKC, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Ulsan City, and others will carry it out.

From this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will promote the construction of small-scale processing facilities with an annual capacity of 1 ton in connection with the demonstration project.

From next year, the Ministry of Environment will implement the environmental label certification system to diversify the environmental evaluation system for biodegradable products.

Source=Asia Economy DB

To increase the added value of the white bio industry, support for research and development (R&D), regulatory improvement, and partnership building will be promoted.

From this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will support the development of strains and product advancement using new bio-technologies such as synthetic biology.

In the first half of next year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will revise the 'Genetically Modified Organisms Act.' Instead of risk assessment, a prior review system will be applied to accelerate the import and production of white bio products using new technologies such as gene editing.

The industrial value chain will be advanced through cooperation between bio companies and chemical companies, joint development between material suppliers and product developers, and partnership building.

Additionally, to form an industrial group, support will be provided for ▲training on-site production personnel ▲patent creation and export support such as market development ▲support for commercialization and business through prototype production and testing evaluation.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo emphasized, "The white bio industry can be a useful solution to issues such as carbon reduction and plastic waste problems that have been recently discussed."

Minister Sung said, "The government will spare no effort in multifaceted support such as R&D support, initial market creation through demonstration projects, regulatory improvement, and foundation establishment so that the white bio industry can become a future growth engine."

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