Innovative R&D Support 'Alchemist' Passes Preliminary Feasibility Study... 414.2 Billion Won Investment

Preliminary Feasibility Study Passed... 414.2 Billion Won Invested Over 10 Years

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The 'Industrial Technology Alchemist' project, which supports challenging and innovative technology development in the private sector, will be fully launched starting next year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 2nd that the Industrial Technology Alchemist project has passed the preliminary feasibility study with a total project cost of 414.2 billion KRW.

This project aims to support the creation of future new industries and new markets through challenging and innovative technology development that will change the industrial landscape in 10 to 20 years. It has been promoted as a pilot project since 2019 to encourage bold and innovative research that is not afraid of failure, in contrast to the research practices focused only on project success. The government plans to support universities, research institutes, and companies from next year until 2031.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "This project is the first among the government-wide innovation-challenge type research and development (R&D) projects to pass the preliminary feasibility study," and added, "It has laid the foundation for expanding bold and innovative R&D projects within the government."

The project is conducted through a total of three-stage scale-up competitive R&D research methods where multiple tasks compete by theme. In each theme, stage 1 supports 6 teams, stage 2 supports 3 teams selected from the 6 teams in stage 1, and stage 3 supports the final single team. Stage 1 conceptual research receives 200 million KRW for one year, stage 2 preliminary research receives 500 million KRW for one year, and stage 3 main research receives 4 billion KRW for five years, supporting up to 7 years and approximately 20.7 billion KRW per project.

The Grand Challenge Committee, composed of top private experts from various fields, discovers innovative themes that will become game changers in future industries 10 to 20 years from now, and researchers directly plan the tasks for each theme.

During last year's pilot project, selected projects included interactive neural interface research that can control external devices or communicate with others by thought alone, technology that monitors and self-corrects disease genes within cells to prevent or treat disease onset, soft implants without immune rejection, and body-protective smart suit projects that automatically monitor harmful substances such as fine dust to protect the human body.

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