Specialized Secondary Battery Complex 'Pohang' Designation Unanimous! ... Securing Global Technology Hegemony

Performance on the 6th to Celebrate the Designation of 18 R&BD Institutions as Secondary Battery Specialized Complex

Contributing to Securing Global Technology Dominance in Secondary Batteries Based on Excellent Scientific Infrastructure

With the announcement of the secondary battery national advanced strategic project complex scheduled for this month, the citizens of Pohang are united in their hope for the "Pohang attraction."

On the 6th, Pohang City held an event at Pohang Technopark to pray for the designation of a secondary battery specialized complex, attended by about 200 R&BD stakeholders from the region.

On the 6th, Pohang City held an event at Pohang Technopark with about 200 local R&BD stakeholders in attendance to pray for the designation of a secondary battery specialized complex.

The 18 participating R&BD institutions pledged to pool their capabilities to help South Korea secure global technological dominance in the secondary battery industry centered around Pohang, and performed a ceremony expressing their wish for the designation of the secondary battery specialized complex.

Representative participating institutions include world-renowned technical universities such as POSTECH, the Korea Institute of Robot Convergence, Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, and the Max Planck Korea Research Institute. The number of master's and doctoral-level researchers working at these R&BD institutions reaches approximately 4,000.

Additionally, on the 5th at Pohang City Hall, eight universities including POSTECH, Korea University, Kangwon National University, and Kyungpook National University gathered to establish a secondary battery research and development ecosystem. They signed a joint cooperation agreement for human, technological, and material exchanges related to the secondary battery industry, drawing attention to Pohang as an excellent scientific city with abundant human and material infrastructure.

Recently, Pohang City has been promoting the "Secondary Battery Specialized Complex" as a major project. This project, announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to secure global technological dominance, is a core initiative that will mark a new turning point in creating a new secondary battery industry ecosystem in Pohang.

Pohang boasts strengths such as leading companies like EcoPro and POSCO Future M, achieving the world's number one city in cathode material production, and plans for a large-scale investment of 14 trillion won by 2027. Additionally, Energy Materials (GS Construction) has invested in battery recycling projects, and more than 30 related companies in the upstream and downstream sectors have settled in the industrial complex, solidifying its position as a specialized secondary battery industrial complex.

Moreover, recently, Pohang signed a memorandum of understanding for a 1.2 trillion won investment with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt and POSCO Future M, core materials companies for secondary batteries. In the first half of this year alone, it has attracted large-scale investments totaling 5.5 trillion won from major corporations, accelerating the achievement of its goal to become the world's number one cathode material production city.

Alongside this, Pohang has a foundation capable of nurturing research personnel from concentrated R&BD institutions such as POSTECH, Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang Technopark, and Pohang Metal Materials Industry Promotion Agency, as well as process and field personnel from Polytech and Meister High Schools. Furthermore, in November last year, the Gyeongbuk Secondary Battery Industry-Academia-Research-Government Innovation Governance, consisting of 30 institutions sharing the same vision, was launched, uniting efforts for the designation of the Pohang secondary battery specialized complex.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, "Pohang is the optimal place to strengthen South Korea's secondary battery industry competitiveness and achieve material self-reliance," adding, "Based on Pohang's excellent R&BD infrastructure, we will do our best to help South Korea secure global technological dominance in the secondary battery industry."

More than 20 local governments nationwide have entered the competition for the designation of the national advanced strategic industry specialized complex. The final selection is scheduled for July this year after evaluations by private expert committees and final deliberations and resolutions by the National Advanced Strategic Industry Committee.

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