Pohang City Signs Business Agreement with German Research Institute to Leap Forward as a Global Hydrogen Industry City

Po-hang Technopark - Fraunhofer Institute Germany

Discussion on Cooperation Plans for Fostering Hydrogen Companies and Training Experts

Pohang City, together with Pohang Technopark (Director Bae Young-ho), signed a business agreement on the 17th (local time) with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (hereinafter Fraunhofer), a German government-funded research institute.

Pohang City, together with Pohang Technopark, signed a business agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute, a German government-funded research institution, on the 17th (local time) and discussed cooperation plans.

At the signing ceremony attended by about 20 officials including Bae Young-ho, Director of Pohang Technopark, Sophie U. Hippmann, Director of Fraunhofer, and Alexander Michaelis, Director of the Institute of Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), the three organizations agreed to join forces to revitalize the hydrogen economy in Pohang City and to lead the development of the hydrogen industry.

Through this business agreement, the three organizations plan to actively promote strategies to nurture and support hydrogen-specialized companies located in Pohang City by collaborating on R&D in hydrogen production and utilization fields and discovering joint projects.

In particular, they plan to discover joint R&D projects in mutually interested areas such as the development of materials, components, and systems related to hydrogen production and utilization, high-temperature fuel cells and water electrolysis, and low-temperature fuel cells and water electrolysis, and to actively promote the nurturing of hydrogen companies in Pohang City in connection with these efforts.

The IKTS research institute of Fraunhofer employs about 200 staff members and is a leading German research institution committed to developing eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cells and achieving carbon neutrality. Alexander Michaelis, Director of the institute, delivered a keynote speech at the ‘EKC 2023 (Europe-Korea Science Conference 2023)’ event and is recognized as Germany’s top authority in ceramic technology and eco-friendly energy fields.

Jung Kyu-duk, Head of the Hydrogen Energy Industry Division, said, “We expect the growth of hydrogen and fuel cell-related companies located in Pohang City through this business agreement,” adding, “Together with Pohang Technopark and Fraunhofer, we will promote technological advancement of companies and contribute to nurturing hydrogen companies in Pohang City.”

Last year, Pohang City actively supported the localization of parts for five companies through a project to develop core technologies for hydrogen fuel cell parts. This year, the city is promoting a preliminary hydrogen-specialized company nurturing project, providing technical support such as prototype production and patents, as well as marketing and consulting services to seven hydrogen-related companies in the region.

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