Pohang City, Gyeongbuk Province, and 30 Local Industry-Academia-Government Innovation Governance Launch
Practical TF Composed of Secondary Battery Experts Begins Feasibility Analysis of Specialized Complex
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Pohang City, together with Gyeongbuk Province, is making every effort to be designated as a ‘Secondary Battery Specialized Complex’ supported by national policy by consolidating the innovation capabilities of local industry-academia-research-government sectors, while striving to leap forward as a global battery hub city.
To this end, Pohang City and Gyeongbuk Province have launched the ‘Gyeongbuk Secondary Battery Industry-Academia-Research-Government Innovation Governance,’ held the kickoff briefing for the ‘Feasibility Analysis of the Gyeongbuk Secondary Battery Specialized Complex,’ hosted the ‘Battery Leading City Pohang International Conference 2022,’ and organized the Gyeongbuk Science and Technology Organizations Forum on the theme of ‘Activation Plans for the Secondary Battery Material Industry,’ gathering all their capabilities.
On the 24th of last month, Pohang City and Gyeongbuk Province spearheaded the launch of the ‘Gyeongbuk Secondary Battery Industry-Academia-Research-Government Innovation Governance,’ involving 30 companies, research institutes, universities, and local governments in the Gyeongbuk region, including EcoPro, POSTECH, and Gyeongbuk Technopark.
The innovation governance is a policy council composed of experts with abundant knowledge and experience in each field. It will play a leading role as a focal point for regional capabilities to build an industry-academia cooperation system and revitalize the secondary battery industry, taking the lead in attracting the secondary battery specialized complex.
The secondary battery innovation governance aims to hold meetings once every quarter and will operate an ‘Open Lab’ that jointly utilizes equipment owned by each industry-academia-research-government organization. It will also nurture customized personnel for research, processes, and field demands, discover R&D projects to lead the battery industry, and make government recommendations.
At the ‘Battery Leading City Pohang International Conference 2022,’ held alongside the launch of the innovation governance, domestic and international experts gathered under the theme ‘Leaping to a Global Battery Leading City through Designation of the Secondary Battery Specialized Complex’ to diagnose the present and future of the secondary battery industry and analyze the strengths of Pohang’s top-tier battery industry ecosystem.
Subsequently, on the 25th of last month, a kickoff briefing for the ‘Feasibility Analysis of the Secondary Battery Specialized Complex’ was held at the Pohang City Hall’s medium conference room, attended by a practical TF committee composed of Gyeongbuk secondary battery experts. Through this, they plan to swiftly respond to future specialized complex application procedures by reviewing the basic conditions for designation.
On the 7th of this month, the Gyeongbuk Science and Technology Forum was held at City Hall by the Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies Gyeongbuk Regional Federation under the theme ‘Activation Plans for the Secondary Battery Material Industry.’ Gyeongbuk scientists gathered to discuss the designation of the advanced strategic industry ‘Secondary Battery Specialized Complex,’ and the local industry-academia-research-government sectors plan to continuously unite their efforts to attract the specialized complex.
The city, together with Gyeongbuk Province, completed the ‘Secondary Battery Comprehensive Management Center’ last year in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex, which will serve as a hub for battery reuse and recycling. The ‘Pohang Battery Recycling Regulatory Free Zone’ has been selected as an excellent free zone for three consecutive years nationwide. In addition, it is establishing national demonstration infrastructure such as a post-use battery resource circulation cluster, an inline automatic evaluation center, and attracting projects to support LFP commercialization.
Pohang City possesses world-class technological research infrastructure such as POSTECH and RIST, and in transportation, it has the Donghae Line railway, Yeongilman Port railway connection, Daegu-Pohang Expressway, Pohang-Gyeongju Airport, and Yeongilman Port?the only container port on the East Coast?providing favorable conditions for the import and export of battery materials. Through this, it is evaluated that Pohang has sufficient conditions to leap forward as a secondary battery hub city, enabling strategic nurturing of anchor companies by playing a global hub role in the battery industry.
Groundbreaking Ceremony for POSCO Chemical's Secondary Battery Core Material Cathode Active Material Plant.
As of December, the city has successfully attracted corporate investments worth 4.1634 trillion KRW (based on MOUs) from anchor companies such as EcoPro and POSCO Chemical, as well as mid-sized companies. This year, it also won the ‘Battery Leading City’ category at the Korea Brand Awards. Not stopping there, Pohang aims to leap forward as a global secondary battery hub city by completing the battery ecosystem and securing next-generation battery technologies with a super-gap through designation as a ‘Secondary Battery Specialized Complex.’
Mayor Kang-deok Lee emphasized, “For South Korea to secure a super-gap competitiveness in the explosively growing global battery market, it is essential to designate Pohang as a secondary battery specialized complex. We will unite all our strength so that Pohang can transcend its steel industry city status and become a global center city for the next-generation secondary battery industry, which is a core future industry.”
If designated as the government’s advanced strategic industry secondary battery specialized complex, it is expected that corporate investment will be promoted through government support necessary for the innovative development of strategic industries and ecosystem creation, such as infrastructure construction, tax reduction support, package investments including permits and infrastructure, and research and development (R&D).
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