Jeonbuk Province Opens Korea's First Carbon Composite Reliability Center

Expecting "Two Birds with One Stone" Effect: Resolving Certification Difficulties for SMEs, Reducing Costs and Time

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] A center capable of testing, evaluating, and obtaining international standard certification for carbon composite products has been established in Jeonbuk.

Jeonbuk Province announced on the 12th that it has established the "Carbon Composite Reliability Evaluation Center" in collaboration with the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency and the Korea Construction Living Environment Testing & Research Institute, officially commencing operations.

The Carbon Composite Reliability Evaluation Center was built with a total project cost of 19.3 billion KRW funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Jeonbuk Province, and Jeonju City. It is located on a 6,452㎡ site with a total floor area of 4,760㎡ within the Jeonju Eco-friendly Advanced Composite Industrial Complex. The center consists of the Promotion Agency’s Reliability Evaluation Building and the Research Institute’s Demonstration Evaluation Building, equipped with 46 types of testing and verification equipment.

In particular, the 46 state-of-the-art testing devices were established to suit the characteristics of the Promotion Agency and the Research Institute.

Accordingly, the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency operates 21 types of equipment to evaluate the characteristics and components of carbon composites in aerospace, mobility, and marine sectors, while the Korea Construction Living Environment Testing & Research Institute uses 25 types of equipment to assess the safety of carbon composite components and products in construction, living safety, and leisure fields.

With the establishment of this center, official testing, KS, KC, and performance certifications can be conducted within the province, which is expected to greatly contribute to improving the business environment of companies by reducing testing costs and shortening periods in various ways.

From a cost perspective, Jeonbuk Province expects a 9.3% reduction domestically compared to previous costs, and a saving of 14 million KRW per case compared to the past when international certification was outsourced overseas.

The evaluation period is also expected to be shortened by 5.4 days domestically and a full 7 months overseas.

Additionally, with the establishment of infrastructure supporting testing, evaluation, and certification throughout the entire lifecycle from materials to components to finished products, technical difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in the carbon sector can be resolved, and the competitiveness of the domestic carbon industry can be strengthened.

Furthermore, as the center provides a foundation for promoting new technology development by local SMEs and international standard development for materials and components, it is expected to have a positive impact on the commercialization of technologies developed by companies and the expansion of overseas markets.

Governor Song Ha-jin said, "There have been many voices from local SMEs demanding the urgent establishment of a certification system, and with the completion of the Reliability Center, companies’ difficulties have been resolved, allowing them to save costs and time."

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr

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