Pohang City and Ecopro Group Lead the Creation of K-Battery Innovation Ecosystem

Pohang, Ecopro Partners, Pohang Technopark, and Ecopro Sign Open Innovation MOU

Building an Open Battery Technology Innovation Platform... Full Effort to Establish Battery Innovation Ecosystem Centered on Pohang

Pohang City is set to actively foster the creation of a Pohang-style secondary battery innovation industry ecosystem by establishing partnerships between EcoPro Group, a leading local company and global leader in secondary batteries, and startups.

From the left, Jaehoon Lee, CEO of EcoPro Partners; Sanggil Jang, Vice Mayor of Pohang; Youngho Bae, Director of Pohang Technopark.

On the 13th, the city held the "K-Battery Innovation Ecosystem Creation Business Agreement Ceremony" at the city hall’s main meeting room, together with EcoPro Partners and Pohang Technopark, to accelerate the creation of a battery ecosystem and build a mutually beneficial growth environment.

The event was attended by about 20 representatives from each organization, including Jang Sangkil, Deputy Mayor of Pohang, Lee Jaehun, CEO of EcoPro Partners, and Bae Youngho, Director of Pohang Technopark.

Through this agreement, Pohang City aims to discover startups that will drive industrial innovation by strengthening open innovation project initiatives and mutual cooperation systems with the partner organizations. The city plans to cooperate not only in investments but also in commercialization, thereby creating future growth engines.

EcoPro Partners, established by EcoPro in July 2020, is a venture capital company specializing in investments in promising ventures in the environment, energy, and other materials industries to strengthen EcoPro Group’s value chain and foster new businesses.

EcoPro Partners plans to discover promising battery technology innovation companies with growth potential through the operation of open innovation programs with Pohang Technopark, and will provide follow-up support such as networking and fund investments.

Pohang Technopark will contribute by operating technology commercialization programs, including collaboration matching between startups and EcoPro Group, technology verification, prototype production, product advancement, and providing collaborative funding. Pohang City, together with EcoPro Partners and related organizations, will actively cooperate to create a healthy secondary battery industry ecosystem where large corporations and small and venture businesses can coexist.

Pohang Technopark is currently holding a contest to discover startups with innovative technologies that can collaborate with EcoPro Group for the EcoPro Secondary Battery Open Innovation Program.

Thirteen companies applied in three fields: energy (secondary battery raw materials and components, eco-friendly energy, charging infrastructure), environment (recycling, eco-friendly materials, water treatment), and convergence technologies (digital transformation, smart factories). After document and presentation evaluations, four companies will be selected.

The city plans to actively promote various open innovation support projects to strengthen technological competitiveness, create new businesses through cooperation with EcoPro, a global leader in secondary batteries, and help promising local venture companies with high growth potential become the next EcoPro by building a win-win and mutually beneficial growth ecosystem.

Deputy Mayor Jang Sangkil said, "We will do our best to build an innovative ecosystem for the sustainable growth of the battery industry by supporting scale-up, investment attraction, and incubation for the mutual growth of secondary battery leaders and startups," adding, "We will pool the capabilities of related partner organizations to lead the future of the battery industry."