"Pusan National University's 'Glocal Lab' Expands Global Joint Research with Germany's Fraunhofer Institute"

Building a Full-Fledged European Research Network
in Battery and Resource Circulation through the Glocal Lab Project

Pusan National University (President Choi Jaewon) is accelerating the expansion of its global joint research system with major European research institutes, including Germany's Fraunhofer Institute, based on the Ministry of Education's Glocal Lab project.

Pusan National University announced on February 12 that the research team led by Professor Kim Suhyung of the Department of Nanoenergy Engineering, which is carrying out the Glocal Lab project, visited Frankfurt, Hanover, Dresden, and Goslar in Germany from January 26 to February 2, and conducted research exchanges with the Fraunhofer Institute as well as local universities and research institutes.

The Glocal Lab project is a Ministry of Education initiative that fosters university-affiliated research institutes as key hubs linking regional basic research with industry. Pusan National University was selected last year for the project titled "Convergence Research on Circular Resource Utilization Across the Entire Life Cycle of Secondary Batteries" and is receiving a total of 13.5 billion won in funding over nine years.

During this visit, Professor Kim Suhyung's research team held a series of research meetings with Fraunhofer IWKS (Fraunhofer Research Institution for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies) and Fraunhofer IKTS (Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems), Clausthal University of Technology, and the Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in Germany, thereby strengthening the foundation for international joint research.

The research team shared research trends and experimental infrastructure with Fraunhofer IWKS and IKTS in the fields of spent energy storage materials, battery recycling, resource circulation, and safety assessment, and engaged in in-depth discussions on the possibility of establishing a joint research institute and promoting international joint research projects in the future.

The team also visited the research group of Professor Paik Minkyu at Clausthal University of Technology to examine the research implementation system of German universities and their industry-academia cooperation structure, and to deepen their understanding of research methods and experimental environments that can be applied to joint research.

In particular, through exchanges with the Korea-Fraunhofer Association for Science and Technology Cooperation (K-FAST) and the Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in Germany, they strengthened the Korea-Germany research network and jointly explored ways to plan Europe-linked international joint projects such as Horizon Europe and the Global Industry Technology Cooperation Center (GITCC).

Professor Kim Suhyung of Pusan National University said, "This visit to Germany served as an important opportunity to build a mid- to long-term cooperation base with European research institutes, with Fraunhofer at the center," adding, "We will continue our collaboration through the Glocal Lab project so that it can lead to global joint research, personnel exchanges, and the attraction of international projects."

The Glocal Lab research team at Pusan National University plans to continue expanding cooperation with major European research institutes, including Fraunhofer, and to accelerate efforts to strengthen global research competitiveness in the fields of advanced materials, energy, and batteries.

A Fraunhofer delegation is visiting Pusan National University and taking a commemorative photo.

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