Ministry of Industry R&D Budget to Surpass 5 Trillion Won for the First Time Next Year... Expansion of Carbon Neutrality Support

Carbon Neutral R&D Increases 45% Year-on-Year to 1.1961 Trillion Won

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] Next year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's research and development (R&D) support will surpass 5 trillion won for the first time in history.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that on the 28th, it will announce the "2022 Industrial Technology Innovation Project Integrated Implementation Plan," which includes an industrial technology R&D support plan worth 5.5 trillion won, on the Ministry's website and the websites of R&D dedicated agencies such as the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology.

Next year's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy R&D budget will be 5.5415 trillion won, an increase of about 11.9% compared to 4.9 trillion won in 2021, surpassing 5 trillion won for the first time. To secure new markets and growth paths amid economic crises such as the reorganization of the global value chain (GVC) of core materials, the outbreak of COVID-19, and the need to respond to the climate crisis, the industrial technology R&D budget has increased by more than 2.4 trillion won compared to 3.158 trillion won in 2018.

Specifically, 1.1961 trillion won has been allocated to the carbon-neutral R&D budget, expanding investment by more than 45% compared to 824.8 billion won in 2021. Among these, the carbon-neutral R&D budget for industrial sectors with low investment in energy transition has been doubled to 413.5 billion won. To achieve rapid carbon reduction through industrial process efficiency, 13 industrial process innovation R&D projects focusing on high carbon-emitting industries have been newly established, with a concentrated investment of 54.2 billion won. In the energy transition sector, including the establishment of 15 new projects such as renewable energy transition, expansion of distributed power sources, hydrogen economy activation, and carbon capture, storage, and utilization (CCSU), 782.6 billion won has been allocated, an increase of 27.9% compared to this year.

Furthermore, the R&D budget will continue to expand, investing more than 30% of industrial R&D in carbon-neutral technologies by 2030. Large-scale preliminary feasibility studies will be promoted in fields requiring large-scale technology development, and climate response funds will also be actively utilized.

The industrial digital transformation R&D budget has been increased by 13.9% to 264 billion won to actively respond to digital transformation demands faced in industrial sites and the rapid transition to a non-face-to-face digital economy triggered by the pandemic.

The materials, parts, and equipment R&D budget will expand by 8.1% from 1.5551 trillion won in 2021 to 1.6816 trillion won in 2022, and the budget for the three innovative growth new industries will increase by 27.8% from 615.9 billion won to 787 billion won during the same period. This is to stabilize the supply chain of core materials, secure future supply chains such as materials, parts, and equipment, and increase investment in the three innovative growth new industries.

In addition, 352.4 billion won, an increase of 14.6%, has been allocated to R&D exclusively for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies, including strengthening support and expanding investment in workforce training.

Details such as project overview and schedule can be checked on the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and dedicated agency websites from the 28th. The government plans to hold an online briefing session on the 2022 industrial technology R&D project implementation plan on the 26th of next month.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "Since carbon neutrality is an irreversible trend, we plan to continuously expand the related budget to apply carbon-neutral technologies not only in energy transition but also in materials, parts, and equipment and innovative growth new industries. We will prepare various institutional support measures besides budget support to minimize the burden on industries such as SMEs and mid-sized companies that are vulnerable to the carbon-neutral transition period."

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