The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) has set up a global cooperation network to secure an upper hand in the race for global secondary battery technology hegemony.
KRICT held “2026 Next-Generation Secondary Battery International Forum” at Science Technology Center in Seoul from Feb. 5 to 6.
The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and organized by K-BIC at KRICT.
It was designed to secure a hegemony over secondary battery technology, a core driver for the explosive growth of future industries, such as the AI transition, humanoid robots and self-driving EVs.
Participants at the “Next-generation Secondary Battery Round Meeting,” which took place on Day 1 on Feb. 5, had an in-depth discussion over cooperation models between state and industry circles.
The meeting, presided over by MSIT Vice Minister Koo Huck-chae, brought together Korean battery and automobile company leaders, including Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, SK On and Hyundai Motor, and they discussed ways of producing practical achievements in conjunction with state-funded research institutes and companies in a technology hegemony competition.
Participants concurred on state-funded research institutes’ pivotal roles in securing next-generation secondary battery proprietary technologies with the goal of upgrading unmanned/AI.
The meeting was followed by an international forum, which explored how to overcome the limitations of lithium-ion batteries.
Global renowned academicians, such as Ping Liu of the University of California, San Diego and Prof. Masayoshi Watanabe of Yokohama University presented ways of designing innovative materials designed to secure longevity and safety - difficult problems for lithium metal and all-solid-state batteries, and stressed joint research with Korea.
The “Battery Company Tech Partnering” Program, hosted by K-BIC, on Day 2 on Feb. 6 had a detailed discussion on how to commercialize technologies.
At the event, K-BIC unveiled a roadmap on seven super gap core technologies, dubbed “7-Tool,” it will secure by investing 130 billion won by 2029.
The research team presented a high-density 800Wh/l lithium metal battery capable of driving around the country per charging, fire-free, high-safety 400Wh/kg all-solid state battery it targets to develop, attracting attention.
It had a detailed discussion on how to transfer technologies and promote cooperation with demand companies and explored ways of building the whole cycle ecosystem of commercializing them.
Kim Myung-hwan, head of K-BIC, said, “We aims to bring about commercialized technologies as game changers of the industry field beyond outcomes of lab levels, and K-BIC will unveil K-battery proprietary technology that will overwhelm the global market by 2029 by making the most of the cooperative regime among industry, academia and research and government circles.”
KRICT President Lee Young-kuk said, “We will reflect the industry sector’s urgent demand and scholars’ in-sights into the research field, and KRICT, serving as a bridge connecting the government, companies and academic circles and a pivot of the next-generation battery technology, will accomplish a national task of securing a super-gap technology.”
KRICT Publishes Success Story Casebook of Six Subsidiary Companies
The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology published a casebook of business success stories, nurtured by KRICT’s subsidiary research institutes, KRICT said on Jan. 29.
The casebook, dubbed “Link Connected KRICT Technology and Grow in Innovation,” was made to publicize KRICT’s differentiated support outcomes in celebration of the 10th anniversary of inaugurating of its first startup in 2016.
The book consists of KRICT’s open-type cooperation growth stories, such as technology innovation capability reinforcement processes and growth roadmaps as well as spill-over effects.
It contains stories of six subsidiary startups with excellent technology internalization and localization success stories, such as CCU, water treatment materials, secondary battery/energy materials, carbon/environment materials, semiconductor/cooling materials, and paint and dispersant technology.
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