'Korea Solidifies Position as World's Best Battery Maker'... Accelerating Commercialization of All-Solid-State Secondary Batteries

KBSI "Starting Follow-up R&D for Practical Use of Wearables"
Solidifying Electrolytes Enables Safe and Fast Charging
Most Notable Alternative in Next-Generation Battery Market

A prototype of an all-solid-state secondary battery with free formability. Photo by Korea Basic Science Institute.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] South Korea, boasting the world's best battery technology, is solidifying its lead in next-generation battery technology as well. Research on the commercialization of all-solid-state secondary batteries, which are flexible and safe, is undergoing a transformation. All-solid-state batteries use solids instead of volatile liquid electrolytes, making them much safer and capable of faster charging compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries, making this technology the most notable in the next-generation battery market.

The Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI) announced on the 20th during an online press briefing that it has begun follow-up research and development aimed at the practical application and commercialization of all-solid-state secondary batteries for wearable devices. Earlier in January, Dr. Kim Hae-jin’s research team at KBSI, in collaboration with domestic researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Sungkyunkwan University, announced the successful development of a safe and freely deformable "all-solid-state secondary battery."

KBSI stated, "The battery, manufactured with a thickness of less than 1mm, operates normally while maintaining stable capacity even when freely crumpled, cut, or exposed internally to air," adding, "This technology increases the design freedom for producing small wearable electronic devices and is becoming visible in its application to next-generation batteries and domestic industrial sectors."

Alongside this, KBSI introduced development achievements that can replace foreign equipment with domestic technology in response to the materials, parts, and equipment crisis triggered by Japan’s export restrictions against Korea in 2019.

First, through the "Analytical Science-Based Research Equipment Development Project" started in 2017, KBSI has produced tangible results by developing equipment usable across various industries, including confocal thermal reflection microscopes, electromagnetic property measurement devices, commercial transmission electron microscopes, secondary ion mass spectrometers, and ion beam application platforms for bio and material research based on accelerator technology.

Among these, the confocal thermal reflection microscope, developed for the first time worldwide in 2016 by Dr. Jang Ki-soo’s research team, is equipment that uses laser light to observe internal and external heat generation in microelectronic devices. Domestic technology transfer was completed in 2017, and it has been commercially available since 2018.

Dr. Park Seung-young and Dr. Choi Yeon-seok’s research teams completed the commercialization development of electromagnetic property measurement devices based on electromagnets, expanding them into various product lines. This opened the path for localization that can fully replace the domestic market previously monopolized by foreign models. The commercialized product line consists of seven types, with technology transferred to specialized companies, and additional technology transfers are being pursued through follow-up research on property measurement probes and magnetic field stabilization technology.

The transmission electron microscope developed by Dr. Han Cheol-soo’s research team can image sample structures at atomic-level resolution. Research and development began in 2015, and they succeeded in independently developing a 30kV transmission electron microscope, the first in Korea. By 2025, they plan to develop Korea’s first 60kV transmission electron microscope equipped with essential spherical aberration correction technology for high-performance transmission electron microscopes. Dr. Choi Myung-chul’s research team also developed the gas cluster ion beam device, a core component of the "secondary ion mass spectrometer," which had been entirely dependent on imports. The cluster ion beam device is a key element for three-dimensional mass analysis of samples. It has achieved precision comparable to cutting-edge foreign ion beams, and by 2025, they are developing a high-performance mass spectrometer capable of three-dimensional secondary ion mass imaging analysis of organic semiconductors, displays (OLED), and biological samples.

In June, Dr. Lee Byung-seop’s research team, in joint research with Korea University, secured a 14GHz ECR ion source that extracts the highest medium ion beam current in Korea at the medium ion accelerator installed at Korea University Sejong Campus Accelerator Research Center. They plan to conduct follow-up research to improve accelerator performance and utilize it for training accelerator-related talent and research.

Meanwhile, KBSI was designated as the lead institution for the multipurpose synchrotron radiation accelerator project, which is being constructed in Ochang, Chungbuk, with an investment of over 1.4 trillion won, earlier this year.

Shin Hyung-sik, Director of KBSI, said, “Since 2015, we have been conducting independent technology development and localization research,” adding, “Taking Japan’s export restrictions as an opportunity, we are aligning with national efforts for technological independence in materials, parts, and equipment, and KBSI is striving to ensure that localized technologies can secure global competitiveness. The construction of the multipurpose synchrotron radiation accelerator, scheduled for completion in 2027, will be a new leap forward in science and technology.”

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