Gyeongbuk Province Completes 'Future Car Advanced Material Molding Processing Center' in Gyeongju with 28.9 Billion Won Investment

On the 6th, Gyeongbuk Province held a completion ceremony for the Advanced Materials Molding and Processing Center for Future Cars at the e-Mobility Research Complex in Gu-eo 2 Industrial Complex, Oedong-eup, Gyeongju City.

About 150 people attended the event, including Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongbuk Province, Joo Nak-young, Mayor of Gyeongju City, Ha In-sung, Director of Gyeongbuk Technopark, members of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly, Gyeongju City Council members, company representatives, and heads of related organizations.

Currently, the global automobile market is undergoing a revolutionary change that shakes the foundation of the automobile industry established over the past 100 years. Major countries such as the United States, Europe, and Japan are aggressively promoting the adoption of future cars including electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, and autonomous vehicles based on batteries and fuel cells under the goal of achieving carbon neutrality.

Gyeongju Mobility Research Complex.

South Korea presented a goal through the global top three automobile industry strategy last September to leap to an annual production of 3.3 million electric vehicles and a 12% global market share by 2030. Hyundai Motor Company also announced that from 2030, it will produce only hydrogen and battery electric vehicles for all Genesis models.

Along with the paradigm shift in the automobile industry, the automotive parts industry ecosystem urgently needs to innovate from internal combustion engines to future cars and secure new markets for eco-friendly and autonomous driving materials and parts.

Gyeongbuk Province ranks third after Gyeonggi and Gyeongnam in the number of automotive parts companies, with 1,414 companies (13.7% of the national total), mostly concentrated in the Gyeongju, Yeongcheon, and Gyeongsan areas near Ulsan, where Hyundai Motor Company is located.

The main automotive parts produced in the Gyeongju area currently are automobile platforms such as body, chassis, and seats, as well as internal combustion engine parts.

Future car parts focus on eco-friendliness and lightweighting, but the existing iron-based automotive parts materials have limitations in sustainability and growth potential, necessitating business transformation.

Accordingly, Gyeongbuk Province established the Advanced Materials Molding and Processing Center for Future Cars within the Gyeongju e-Mobility Research Complex to reorganize the local automotive parts industry to suit future cars and to quickly respond to industrial demands for advanced materials, parts, and manufacturing technologies.

The Advanced Materials Molding and Processing Center for Future Cars was built with a total project cost of 28.9 billion KRW (8.9 billion KRW national funds, 6 billion KRW provincial funds, 14 billion KRW city funds) on a site of 9,498㎡, consisting of one research building (2,057㎡, 3 floors above ground) and one evaluation building (932㎡, 1 floor above ground).

It is equipped with 10 major pieces of equipment capable of supporting the entire process including parts design and analysis, prototype production, and demonstration evaluation and certification, and is operated by Gyeongbuk Technopark.

The main projects include developing molding and processing technologies for various automotive parts such as structural materials, interior and exterior materials, engine rooms, and battery packs for future cars based on advanced materials like aluminum, carbon composites, and engineering plastics, as well as molding and joining technology advancement, prototype commercialization, and professional workforce training.

Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “Gyeongbuk Province aims to promote a major transformation of the local automotive parts industry in response to the rapidly changing global market situation. Through the Advanced Materials Molding and Processing Center for Future Cars, we will strengthen the parts competitiveness of companies applying advanced new materials and do our best to support localization of core parts and exports.”

He also stated, “To establish a stable supply chain for the automotive parts industry in the Gyeongju area and actively support business diversification of existing internal combustion engine parts companies, we plan to develop the Gyeongju automotive parts complex into a specialized complex for electric vehicle platform materials, parts, and equipment.”

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