First Asian Country to Visit Pohang, Northern Europe Focuses on Pohang Secondary Battery Ecosystem
Visit to Pohang Secondary Battery Industry Cluster... Discussion on Mutual Cooperation Plans
Pohang City, which is solidifying its position as a leading city in the secondary battery industry, introduced its outstanding secondary battery value chain industrial capabilities to a Swedish battery delegation visiting Korea.
On the 25th, the Swedish battery delegation visited the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center in Pohang, toured the facilities, and took a commemorative photo.
On the 25th, the city announced that the Swedish delegation, composed of representatives from industry, academia, and research institutes in the battery sector, visited Pohang’s secondary battery industrial sites to discuss mutually beneficial cooperation measures for the advancement of battery technology and applications.
This battery delegation’s visit was organized by the Swedish Energy Agency and Business Sweden, aiming to foster industrial cooperation and technological exchange with visited countries for the development of Sweden’s key national strategic industry, the battery sector.
The delegation consisted of 16 representatives from 12 companies, including electric vehicle manufacturers such as Volvo and Scania CV, as well as Altres, Granode Materials, Capture Energy, and Drev. These companies cover the entire Swedish battery value chain, from cells and materials to recycling and ESS.
The group visited the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center located in the Pohang Blue Valley National Industrial Complex, where they were briefed on Pohang’s secondary battery innovation ecosystem, including specialized complexes and battery regulatory free zones, and discussed cooperation measures between the two countries’ industry, academia, and research sectors.
Goran Stegrin, Senior Advisor of Business Development at the Swedish Energy Agency and head of the delegation, said, “Following our visits to the United States in 2022 and Germany in 2023, it is very meaningful to visit Korea as the first Asian country. Pohang’s battery industry plays an important role in the Korean economy, and we look forward to the potential for mutual growth through close partnerships with Swedish companies.”
Kwon Hyukwon, Director of the Job and Economy Bureau, stated, “Pohang and Northern Europe have similar industrial ecosystems in batteries, salmon farming, and energy, so we have been maintaining exchanges. Communication with Northern European countries, which are leading the transition to eco-friendly energy, is a vital nutrient for our industrial policies. We hope this visit will further activate exchanges in the battery industry with Sweden.”
The delegation was also introduced to the current status of national projects for used batteries, such as the electric vehicle battery resource circulation cluster and the inline automatic evaluation center, and toured the facilities for battery evaluation and storage.
In addition, they visited PMGrow, located near the Secondary Battery Integrated Management Center, to observe the battery circular economy business field, including battery pack development, battery subscription, battery diagnosis and certification, and reuse, and discussed possible business cooperation.
Furthermore, the delegation visited Ecopro, located in the Yeongilman Industrial Complex, to learn about the progress and current status of the Ecopro Pohang Campus, which has established the world’s first fully integrated process from raw materials to recycling, and toured the promotional center to explore ways to build partnerships between companies.
Pohang City plans to establish a continuous exchange and cooperation network with Northern Europe, the leading region in electric vehicles and secondary batteries, by creating a Nordic session featuring Sweden, Norway, and Finland at the ‘Pohang International Conference for Leading Battery Cities 2024’ to be held at the POSCO International Center this November.
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