Cheongju Innopolis Launches Collaboration Model Between Large and Mid-Sized Firms and Small and Venture Businesses

Six Ecopro affiliates and eight local firms join forces on R&D and demonstration...Co-growth model gains momentum

A collaborative model has been launched in the Cheongju Innopolis, where large and mid-sized regional companies work together with small and venture businesses on technology development and demonstration. It is being assessed that a virtuous cycle is taking shape in which public technology transfer and lab-based startups are leading to cooperation among private companies and producing tangible results.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on February 4, 2026 that its open innovation program in the Cheongju Innopolis has produced practical cases of joint technology development and demonstration between leading large and mid-sized regional companies and small and venture businesses.

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Discovering demand from Ecopro...Collaboration with eight small and venture firms

This open innovation initiative was carried out by linking the technology and business needs of leading regional companies with the technological capabilities of small and venture businesses. As the first participating companies, Ecopro, a secondary battery company based in Cheongju, and its five affiliates (Ecopro HN, Ecopro BM, Ecopro Partners, Ecopro Materials, Ecopro CNG) presented collaboration needs such as AX solutions based on smart factories, factory safety management systems, and secondary battery material development.

Based on this, eight small and venture companies in the Cheongju area were selected as partner firms. The selection process and technology development consulting were conducted with a focus on the demand companies, and many of the selected firms included lab-based startups launched with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT and companies that had adopted university technologies through technology transfer. The Ministry of Science and ICT provided these companies with about 500 million won in research and development (R&D) and demonstration funding and also held an investment briefing session (IR Meet-Up Day).

From public technology transfer to expanded private-sector collaboration

This collaboration also showcased cases in which public technology transfer and startup activities have led to partnerships among private companies. Ecopro HN, which received technology from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, worked with a local robot venture to demonstrate a robot positioning and navigation solution for indoor environments without GPS coverage, applying it to unmanned patrols and inspections in production plants.

Ecopro HN is also working with local small businesses to develop next-generation secondary battery production technologies, while Ecopro CNG has developed an electrolyte recycling technology that recovers high-purity solvents and lithium salts from waste battery electrolytes, successfully producing recycled materials. This is expected to help reduce battery production costs and mitigate environmental pollution.

Lee Eunyoung, Director-General for Research Performance Innovation at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "The open innovation initiative in the Cheongju Innopolis is a model case in which leading regional companies and small and venture businesses have collaborated and successfully moved into commercialization," adding, "We will expand this model to other innopolises to build a regional co-growth ecosystem."

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