[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] BTL Advanced Materials, an affiliate of KPM Tech, has been recognized for its core technology and selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's research and development program, receiving government support.
BTL Advanced Materials announced that it was selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's '2020 Strategic Technology-Type International Joint R&D' program and attended the inauguration ceremony held on the 1st via non-face-to-face participation. The event was attended by Park Jin-gyu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Seok Young-chul, President of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), and representatives of program executing organizations.
The Strategic Technology-Type International Joint R&D program supports international joint technology development of domestic companies with demand from overseas global companies. BTL Advanced Materials was selected as a support target for the project 'Development of Multi-Layer Film for Flexible Batteries with Excellent Curvature Characteristics.'
With this national project selection, BTL Advanced Materials will receive a total of 3 billion KRW in government grants over three years. KIAT evaluated that the secondary battery exterior material sector is led by Japan and is one of the items with a severe technology gap. BTL Advanced Materials' technology development aligns with global demand and has high potential for commercialization and business success.
BTL Advanced Materials is a company that developed and localized aluminum (Al) pouch film, one of the core materials of secondary batteries. Currently, it produces and sells high-performance, high-quality pouch films at two production lines in Hwaseong City. KPM Tech, a KOSDAQ-listed company, holds a 32.5% stake as the largest shareholder.
Al pouch film is an item that relies 100% on imports from Japan, with DNP and Showa Denko dominating the global market. According to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI), the global market for pouch films for secondary batteries was worth 1.2674 trillion KRW last year.
Due to supply-demand imbalance of pouch films, delivery times are lengthening and prices are rising, leading secondary battery manufacturers to have a high interest in diversifying raw material supply sources.
BTL Advanced Materials has already received quality certification from more than 10 domestic and international companies by satisfying core quality requirements (electrolyte resistance, high-temperature stability) demanded by customers. According to the company, factory audits by certified customers have been somewhat delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, causing some delays in overseas exports, but full-scale sales growth is expected once factory audits resume.
A BTL Advanced Materials official stated, "Pouch films manufactured with cutting-edge technology require continuous testing and technical meetings with customer engineers for quality evaluation when entering overseas markets," adding, "With growing expectations for COVID-19 vaccine and treatment development, support from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and KIAT for this program is expected to open new paths for overseas expansion."
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