Ecopro Joins Hands With Special Zone Foundation and Chungbuk National University to Foster Ventures in Chungbuk Region

Building a Venture Support System in Partnership with the Special Zone Foundation and Chungbuk National University
Strengthening a Win-Win Growth Model Centered on the Cheongju, Chungbuk Small but Strong Special Zone

Ecopro is joining hands with the Research & Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation and Chungbuk National University to foster venture companies in the Chungbuk region. Having started as a local venture and grown into a global leader in cathode materials, the company plans to share its experience with local firms to spread its "success DNA."

On the 4th at Ecopro HN headquarters, Kim Jongseop, CEO of Ecopro HN (center), Jeong Heekwon, chairman of the R&D Special Zone Promotion Foundation (second from right), and Lee Sangseop, Deputy Director of Academic Research at the Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation of Chungbuk National University (far right), signed a business agreement (MOU) to revitalize the venture ecosystem in the Chungbuk region. Photo by Ecopro

Ecopro announced that on the 4th, at the Ecopro HN headquarters in Cheongju, Chungbuk, it signed a "business agreement (MOU) to support the growth of local ventures" with the Research & Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation and the Industry–Academic Cooperation Foundation of Chungbuk National University.

Under this agreement, Ecopro and its family companies within the group plan to pass on technological know-how to venture companies in the Chungbuk region, and to share their business experience and success strategies accumulated while growing based in the region.

Ecopro started its business in 1998 with just one employee and has grown with bases in Cheongju, Chungbuk, and Pohang, Gyeongbuk. Since then, by investing in a smelter in Indonesia and completing a plant in Hungary in November last year, the company has expanded its global supply chain and solidified its position as a global leading company.

Taking this agreement as an opportunity, Ecopro plans to further expand the open innovation model it has been promoting since last year and strengthen its role as a "priming water" that drives the growth of regional venture companies.

In fact, from August last year to the end of January this year, Ecopro has been supporting local companies through the "Cheongju, Chungbuk Small but Strong Special Zone Open Innovation Engine Establishment Support Project." This project, led by the Special Zone Foundation, is a program that supports technology demonstration and joint research and development by linking the infrastructure of leading regional companies with the innovative technologies of small and venture companies.

Ecopro Partners, the venture capital (VC) affiliate of the Ecopro Group, was in charge of discovering promising companies within the Cheongju, Chungbuk Small but Strong Special Zone, while four family companies — Ecopro HN, Ecopro BM, Ecopro CNG, and Ecopro Materials — supported technology verification.

Kim Jongseop, CEO of Ecopro HN, said, "We will take the lead in creating a virtuous-cycle ecosystem that supports the growth of local small and venture companies by sharing Ecopro's accumulated technology demonstration experience with companies in the special zone."

Jung Heekwon, chairman of the Research & Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation, said, "This agreement will serve as an opportunity to create a virtuous-cycle structure in which a deep-tech venture grows into a global company and then goes on to foster new innovative companies," adding, "We will actively support the growth of the innovation ecosystem, focusing on the battery and eco-friendly industries in the Chungbuk region."

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