KEPCO Establishes 5 New Research Institute Companies... Expanding Technology Transfer

Establishment of 13 Research Institute Companies... Focused on Energy New Industry Venture Startups

A view of the Korea Electric Power Corporation headquarters in Naju, Jeollanam-do. (Photo by Korea Electric Power Corporation)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) is expanding its technology transfer activities by establishing five new research institute companies in the energy and other sectors.

KEPCO announced on the 23rd that its board of directors recently approved the establishment of five new research institute companies.

A research institute company refers to a company established within a research and development special zone by public research institutions such as government-funded research institutes and universities, which directly invest at least 20% of the establishment capital to commercialize technologies they have developed. The government provides these companies with corporate tax reduction benefits.

Since 2018, KEPCO has been designated as an institution to establish research institute companies that commercialize its developed technologies into energy sector venture companies, and currently operates eight research institute companies.

Among the five research institute companies to be established this time, two will be located in the 'Naju Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone.'

The Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone is a system that designates and fosters small-scale, high-density concentrated spaces as research and development special zones centered on major core technology institutions located in the region, such as universities, research institutes, and public enterprises.

The Naju Small Giant Research and Development Special Zone was designated in August in the Naju Innovation City Industry-Academia-Research Cluster and the Naju Innovation Industrial Complex area. KEPCO plans to develop this special zone as the nation's first public enterprise-type small giant special zone business model and nurture it as a regional innovation growth hub.

Earlier, KEPCO held a meeting last month with the management of the eight currently operating research institute companies to discuss ways to resolve management difficulties faced by early-stage venture companies and support performance creation.

Most of these research institute companies are engaged in businesses related to new energy industries. Specifically, they are involved in services such as analyzing power user behavior and lifestyle patterns using power data, manufacturing integrated security chips (SoC) as element technologies for intelligent metering infrastructure (AMI), and equipment management through augmented reality (AR) implementation based on digital twins.

A KEPCO official stated, "We plan to continuously promote research and development (R&D) commercialization to establish a virtuous cycle model that leads from new energy technology development to startup, technology transfer, and productization."

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