Changwon Special City Selected for 'AI Factory Project' ... Leading Major AI Transformation at Changwon National Industrial Complex

Full-Scale Promotion of the "Power Generation Gas Turbine Blade Repair and Regeneration System"
Accelerating the Creation of the AX Ecosystem

On October 1, Changwon Special City in South Gyeongsang Province announced that it had been finally selected for the 2025 'AI Factory Project' organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Doosan Enerbility Gas Turbine.

The 'AI Factory Project' began in 2024 as the 'AI Autonomous Manufacturing Leading Project.' Reflecting the need to expand beyond the traditional focus on large corporations to include small and medium-sized enterprises, short-term projects, and collaborative models, the ministry announced that it would change the project name in 2025 and plans to solicit and support more than 500 projects by 2030.

In line with this government policy, a total of 70.2 billion won (45.1 billion won from the national government, 4.6 billion won each from the provincial and city governments, and 15.9 billion won from the private sector) will be invested from this year through 2028 to demonstrate and disseminate leading cases of AI autonomous manufacturing in the Changwon National Industrial Complex. Doosan Enerbility, which succeeded in developing a large gas turbine for power generation-the fifth such achievement worldwide-will serve as the demand company for the 'Power Generation Gas Turbine Blade Repair and Regeneration System' project.

Each gas turbine is equipped with approximately 400 blades, which operate at over 3,600 RPM in high-temperature environments approaching 1,300 degrees Celsius, resulting in various types of wear and damage. To precisely repair and regenerate these blades, the entire process-from shape measurement and repair feasibility assessment to additive repair, machining, transfer, and inspection-will be implemented as an AI-based inline autonomous repair system. By integrating proprietary AI technology, the project aims to establish an innovative process that fully automates the repair and regeneration of gas turbine blades.

This project is led by Smac Corporation, with participation from Doosan Enerbility, Moricon, the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Gyeongnam Technopark, Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, and Gyeongsang National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation.

In the traditional repair and regeneration process, which relied on manual work by skilled operators, it took 16 hours to repair and regenerate a single blade. With the introduction of the AI-based unmanned autonomous manufacturing inline system through this project, the manual repair and regeneration time per blade is expected to be reduced by more than 50% compared to the existing process.

The initial investment required to introduce a single new gas turbine is substantial, amounting to between 80 billion and 100 billion won, and ongoing maintenance costs-including life extension maintenance and major component replacement-continue to incur tens of billions of won. As a result, the domestic annual maintenance market alone is estimated at approximately 284 billion won. This is expected to have a significant effect on import substitution and the creation of high value-added industries.

Notably, the global large gas turbine market is structured as an oligopoly dominated by a few overseas companies, which also operate exclusive maintenance and service businesses for the equipment they supply. As a result, domestic power generation companies are highly dependent not only on foreign technology for gas turbine introduction but also on overseas services for maintenance. By securing domestic technology through this project, it is expected to contribute to the establishment of an independent domestic maintenance ecosystem and enhance the competitiveness of future export-oriented 'power plant packages (equipment + MRO)'.

Jang Geumyong, acting mayor of Changwon Special City, stated, "We expect that Smac, a company specializing in machine tools and industrial robot manufacturing, Doosan Enerbility, which possesses gas turbine manufacturing capabilities, and the participating research institutes will work together to create an AI-based collaborative ecosystem centered on industrial sites. Through this technological development, we aim to set a successful example of securing global leadership by converging manufacturing and AI. We will actively support the use of manufacturing process data accumulated through the 'AI Factory' project in the 'Physical AI Demonstration Project,' which was selected as a preliminary feasibility exemption project with a budget of 1 trillion won on August 1, so that the Changwon National Industrial Complex and Masan Marine New City Digital Masan Free Trade Zone can secure global leadership in manufacturing AI."

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