"Sharing Technology"... POSCO Transfers 112 Patents Free of Charge to SMEs

A Total of 926 Patents Transferred Since 2017
Enhancing Competitiveness Across the Industrial Ecosystem

POSCO Group is transferring its patents free of charge to support the innovative growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies.

Officials attending the POSCO Group Technology Sharing event on the 18th are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by POSCO Group

On March 18, POSCO Group and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the '2026 POSCO Group Technology Sharing Event' at El Tower in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, where they announced their plans to transfer patents to SMEs and mid-sized companies. This event was organized to spread high-quality technologies held by large corporations across the industry, enhance national competitiveness, and strengthen a mutually beneficial growth ecosystem.

This year, six POSCO Group companies participated in the technology sharing program: POSCO Holdings, POSCO, POSCO E&C, POSCO Future M, POSCO DX, and RIST. These companies disclosed a total of 293 patents, and out of these, 112 patents will be transferred free of charge to 75 SMEs and mid-sized companies that were jointly selected with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The technologies to be transferred cover a wide range of fields, including machinery and equipment, materials and processes, and energy. They include secondary battery separator technology from POSCO Holdings, on-site steel mill technology from POSCO, waste treatment technology from POSCO E&C, refractory technology from POSCO Future M, and battery power control technology from POSCO DX.

The event began with the signing of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for technology transfer, followed by presentations on exemplary cases of technology transfer and introductions to strategies for technology commercialization.

A representative from one of the SMEs attending the event said, "Acquiring proven patents from large corporations is extremely helpful in shortening technology development timelines and increasing the potential for commercialization. We plan to use this technology sharing initiative as a springboard to further enhance our products and actively enter new markets."

Since 2017, POSCO Group has operated the technology sharing program. To date, it has disclosed a total of 4,569 technologies and transferred 926 patents free of charge to 480 companies. Based on the number of technology transfers, this is the second-largest scale in South Korea after Samsung Electronics.

Tangible results are also being achieved. Korea PCM, which received 'sheet metal plating control device and degreasing technology' from POSCO in 2023 and 2024, has applied these technologies to its processes, thereby improving quality competitiveness. The company is currently preparing to launch a second plant to expand production capacity, reflecting its continued growth.

POSCO Group plans to continue opening its patents and promoting technological cooperation to reduce the R&D burden on SMEs and enhance the overall competitiveness of the industrial ecosystem.

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