Carbon Materials Achieve 80% of Advanced Countries' Technology Level... Government to Promote 500 Billion KRW Preliminary Feasibility Study for Technology Development

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government secured 80% of the technological capability compared to advanced countries and signed corporate investment and supply agreements worth 400 billion KRW just one year after focusing on fostering carbon materials. The government also plans to conduct a preliminary feasibility study for a project investing 500 billion KRW from 2023 to 2027 in the development of industry-demand customized carbon material convergence technologies.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the "Carbon Material Competitiveness Enhancement Performance Report Meeting" at the Korea Carbon Industry Promotion Agency in Jeonju, covering these details.

This event was organized to review the achievements over the past year since the enforcement of the amended "Carbon Material Convergence Technology Development and Infrastructure Support Act (Carbon Material Act)" in November last year and to discuss future development directions. About 30 participants including Park Jin-gyu, 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Jeonbuk Province officials, carbon material-related companies, and affiliated organizations attended to discuss ▲Research and Development (R&D) ▲Infrastructure establishment ▲Market expansion ▲Ecosystem strengthening.

The Ministry recognized carbon materials as a high-growth industry and an advanced material that enhances the competitiveness of other industries, and has supported bold investments and technology development together with related local governments and companies. In technology development, through national projects linked with large-scale private investments, it succeeded in mass-producing carbon fiber, a representative material, as the third country in the world, securing 80% of the technological capability compared to advanced countries, ranking 4th globally after the US, Japan, and Germany. Through demonstration and reliability evaluation projects for market creation, domestic carbon composites were applied to advanced demand industries requiring extreme performance such as hydrogen storage tanks, wind turbine blades, and rocket propellants, achieving significant results.

Additionally, the infrastructure for fostering the carbon material industry was strengthened through the amendment of the Carbon Material Act (basic law), designation of the Promotion Agency (dedicated support organization), establishment of a comprehensive development strategy for the carbon material convergence industry (basic plan), and designation of a carbon material specialized cluster (industrial cluster).

In April this year, the Ministry formed and has been operating the "Carbon Material Convergence Alliance," a consultative body for solidarity and cooperation between demand and supply companies related to carbon materials. So far, three investment and implementation agreements worth 200 billion KRW have been signed. ▲Hyosung Advanced Materials is proceeding as planned with a 680 billion KRW investment to expand its carbon fiber production line, ▲Kukdo Chemical is investing 55 billion KRW to expand its resin factory for composites, and ▲Buko Company is investing 6 billion KRW to build a carbon fiber recycling factory. Additionally, three inter-company purchase agreements in fields such as wind power generation, fuel cells, and water treatment have been signed, totaling 200 billion KRW.

The Ministry plans to continuously maintain the growth momentum of the carbon material industry and expand its base to foster it as one of the prominent new material industries.

Park Jin-gyu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "As self-reliance in advanced carbon materials progresses and the domestic supply chain strengthens, we have taken a step closer to realizing a material powerhouse. Carbon materials are core materials for strategic industries such as semiconductors and batteries, and we will spare no support including securing project budgets and promoting preliminary feasibility studies to secure original technologies and achieve self-reliance."

Meanwhile, the Ministry held the "Carbon Material Industry Meritorious Person Award Ceremony" on the same day, awarding a total of seven government honors to individuals who contributed to the development of the carbon material industry. The awardees contributed to enhancing the technological capability and expanding the market of carbon materials in areas such as domestic carbon material and component demonstration, application to domestic finished car brands, and cost reduction through recycling process development.

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