Busan City Selected for Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 'Biomass-Based Vegan Leather Development and Demonstration Cluster Project'

A total of 25 billion won will be invested by 2028... Development of vegan leather for future mobility using mushroom mycelium

Technology development led by Busan-based company TKG Eco Material, Korea Institute of Materials Convergence establishes testbed

Busan City has been selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's "2024 Biomass-Based Vegan Leather Development and Demonstration Cluster Project," securing 14.8 billion KRW in national funding.

Of this, 9.8 billion KRW in national funding has been allocated for vegan leather technology development, and 5 billion KRW for building the demonstration cluster.

The technology development will be led by the Busan-based company TKG Eco Material, with the Korea Institute of Materials & Components (KIMCO) establishing a testbed in its research building to support Busan companies in developing eco-friendly materials.

Biomass refers to the total mass of living organisms, such as microorganisms proliferating in plants and animals, which form the basis of the ecosystem's circulation process.

"Biomass-based vegan leather" is a type of artificial leather made by cultivating plant-based fibers and mycelium, without using animal-derived leather.

Advanced countries such as the European Union and the United States are at the stage of making large-scale investments in vegan leather development, focusing on technology advancement through strategic partnerships between demand and manufacturing companies.

In Korea, research is mainly conducted by research institutes and universities, while in the industry, technology development is still at the startup level.

The selected "Biomass-Based Vegan Leather Development and Demonstration Cluster Project" aims to support the technological advancement of local small and medium-sized enterprises by localizing vegan leather materials and establishing a mass production process platform.

By 2028, a total of 25 billion KRW (14.8 billion national funding, 4.9 billion city funding, and 5.3 billion private investment) will be invested to develop vegan leather for future mobility using mushroom mycelium and to establish a demonstration testbed.

Existing vegan leather made from plant-derived powder has limitations in physical properties, making it difficult to use in the mobility industry. However, this project aims to overcome these shortcomings by developing high-performance, high-quality vegan leather suitable for the industry.

The process also enables continuous mass production, and the strong connectivity between automotive seat, synthetic leather material, and processing companies makes commercialization easy.

Through this project, the city plans to support the developed and demonstrated vegan leather technology to 220 synthetic leather manufacturing companies and about 120 automotive interior material companies in the region, driving technological advancement and convergence industry linkage.

In particular, it is expected to contribute significantly to establishing a sustainable circular economy system through carbon neutrality and the transition to eco-friendly industries.

Since biomass technology itself can be applied to advanced industries such as secondary batteries, the city plans to gradually expand support and investment in biomass-based technology development.

Development of new vegan leather materials and products using mushroom mycelium.

Mayor Park Hyungjun said, "Since this project is being promoted based on the specific needs of demand companies such as Hyundai Motor Company and Renault Korea Motors, we will establish partnerships among demand, material, and product companies through the development and demonstration of vegan leather for mobility, and achieve early commercialization." He added, "Going forward, our city will continue to collaborate with local industry, academia, and research institutes to build a value chain with global companies and secure the competitiveness of regional vegan leather manufacturing technology."

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