Ministry of SMEs and Startups Selects 154 Future Promising Fields Including Secondary Batteries... Provides Total Support of 19.4 Billion Won

154 Future Promising Projects... Up to 2 Years, 500-600 Million KRW Support
"Actively Discovering and Nurturing Potential Small and Venture Companies"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Minjae] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 3rd that it has selected 154 projects in promising future fields such as secondary batteries, advanced robots, and future cars to be supported through the ‘SME Technology Innovation Development Project.’

The ‘SME Technology Innovation Development Project’ supports small and medium-sized enterprises with sales of over 2 billion KRW that possess excellent technological capabilities to lead the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution and digital transformation.

A total of 1,548 projects were submitted during the two-week period starting April 11. Amid a high competition rate of 10 to 1, a non-face-to-face evaluation method was applied for rapid selection, resulting in the final selection of 154 projects (totaling 19.4 billion KRW).

The selected projects are expected to receive support of 500 million to 600 million KRW over a maximum of two years. In the secondary battery field, a total of eight projects related to manufacturing equipment such as ▲activation process charge/discharge equipment ▲precision laser processing machines for material processing ▲roll-to-roll equipment for thin film surface treatment, and material/process development such as ▲recycling technology for waste battery materials ▲electrolyte additive synthesis technology ▲high-purity cathode stabilizer process technology were selected.

In the advanced robot field, seven projects were selected to develop manufacturing advanced robots such as ▲collaborative robots supporting manufacturing workers ▲mobile robots for pipeline safety inspection, and service robots such as ▲multifunctional complex logistics management robots ▲AI-based object-attached mobile robots to advance the robot industry and secure advanced manufacturing technology.

Additionally, in the future car field, seven projects related to sensors such as ▲inverter current sensors for electric vehicles ▲radar sensor post-maintenance technology, and distribution/infrastructure such as ▲shaft voltage reduction devices for electric vehicle motors ▲multifunctional residential electric vehicle chargers were selected.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to promptly conclude agreements in August for the selected projects and quickly provide research funds for project execution. Basic guidelines for project execution, including research and development implementation plans, research fund budgeting and execution, and research ethics, will also be provided to the selected SMEs.

Yoon Seokbae, Director of Technology Development at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, “We will continuously support domestic SMEs and venture companies to establish unique technological competitiveness in the global market,” adding, “We will actively discover and nurture SMEs and venture companies with potential in promising future fields such as secondary batteries and advanced robots.”

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