Launch of 'Pohang Secondary Battery Companies Council' Leading National Battery Industry ... Accelerating Industrial Ecosystem Development

Co-Growth and Win-Win Cooperation Between Large and Small-Medium Enterprises, Building a Secondary Battery Industry Ecosystem

Promoting Task Discovery and Policy Proposals Such as Technology Exchange, Cooperative Projects, and Technology Commercial

To strengthen the competitiveness of the national advanced strategic industry and to create a sustainable industrial ecosystem in the Pohang secondary battery specialized complex, large and small-to-medium secondary battery companies in the region have joined hands to take the first step toward mutual growth and win-win cooperation.

On the 5th, Pohang City held the inaugural general meeting and launch ceremony of the "Gyeongbuk Pohang Secondary Battery Enterprise Council," composed of large and small-to-medium secondary battery companies based in the region, at the Pohang Technopark Headquarters Building.

On the 5th, Pohang City held the inaugural general meeting and launch ceremony of the ‘Gyeongbuk Pohang Secondary Battery Enterprise Council,’ composed of large and small-to-medium secondary battery companies located in the region, at the Pohang Technopark headquarters building.

Hosted by Pohang Technopark, the launch ceremony was attended by about 100 people, including Mayor Lee Kang-deok, Baek In-gyu, Chairperson of the City Council, Park Yong-seon, Vice Chairperson of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, Moon Chung-do, Chairman of the Pohang Chamber of Commerce and Industry, representatives of related organizations and local business groups, and university and research institution officials such as Choi Do-sung, President of Handong Global University, expressing high expectations for the development of Pohang’s secondary battery industry.

The Enterprise Council, launched to share information and challenges among local secondary battery companies and to foster a healthy ecosystem for the secondary battery industry, includes founding members such as leading secondary battery companies EcoPro, POSCO Future M, Energy Materials, and about 30 small and medium-sized secondary battery-related companies in the region, with plans to continuously expand its membership in the future.

At the inaugural general meeting held prior to the launch ceremony, EcoPro Materials (CEO Kim Byung-hoon) was appointed as the first chair company, and an executive team was formed with representative local secondary battery companies such as Hanseung Chemical (CEO Kim Sang-su), where they exchanged opinions on the council’s role and future operational directions.

The council plans to hold regular and ad hoc working-level meetings to deliberate on key agendas such as technology exchange, cooperative projects, and technology commercialization, as well as to promote task discovery and policy proposals. It will also pursue commercialization through information sharing, technological cooperation, and joint investment for technology development, proactively respond to business difficulties caused by various regulations, and continuously propose regulatory relaxations to the government.

Additionally, the council will continue to discover venture and small enterprises and promote the discovery and publicity of excellent secondary battery companies by recommending awards.

The working-level meetings will be exclusively supported and operated by Pohang Technopark (Director Bae Young-ho), which will collaborate with universities and research institutions to promote customized research and development for companies and help strengthen their commercialization capabilities.

The city, together with Gyeongbuk Province, plans to expand the scope by including companies located in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk area to support the strengthening of national competitiveness and global leadership in the secondary battery industry, sharing regulatory improvements, technologies, and achievements through seminars and investment briefings.

Alongside the Enterprise Council, the city launched the ‘Battery National Defense Committee,’ composed of expert TFs on battery national defense, working-level TFs, and industrial complex-based TFs, to actively promote the nurturing and support of the specialized complex. In November, the city plans to hold the ‘Battery International Conference,’ providing a platform for discussion on fostering the secondary battery industry with domestic and international secondary battery companies and academic experts, further enhancing Pohang’s status as a global leading city in the secondary battery sector.

Furthermore, the city will devote full efforts to expanding the national investment attraction platform that promotes innovative growth, including pushing for designation as a global innovation special zone, attracting special zones for opportunity development through corporate relocation and investment inducement, thereby opening a new era for local regions.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, “Companies located in Pohang, a specialized complex city, will play an important role in stabilizing the global supply chain and strengthening South Korea’s industrial competitiveness,” adding, “We will actively support the council to become a diverse communication and cooperation platform among secondary battery companies and lead Korea’s industrial innovation once again through battery national defense.”

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