Petrochemical, Steel, Shipbuilding... Jeonnam Selected for AI Autonomous Manufacturing Leading Project Competition

Leading 3 Major Industries in Jeonnam Anticipate Manufacturing Innovation
Secured 22.5 Billion KRW National Funding... Selected for the Most Projects Nationwide

Jeonnam Province has been selected in three sectors?petrochemicals, steel, and shipbuilding?for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 2024 AI Autonomous System Leading Project competition. The photo shows Jeonnam Deputy Governor for Political Affairs Park Jeong-hwan and others celebrating after the selection was confirmed.
[Photo by Jeollanam-do]

Jeollanam-do announced that three industrial sectors, the most nationwide, were selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's 2024 AI Autonomous Manufacturing Leading Project competition, securing a total of 22.5 billion KRW in national funding. The selected industrial sectors are petrochemicals, steel, and shipbuilding.

The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Leading Project is a future manufacturing environment construction project that combines artificial intelligence with manufacturing processes to realize advanced and autonomous production. It is expected to solve the productivity decline problem in manufacturing caused by the decrease in the youth population and aging in Jeonnam, and to achieve increased efficiency.

For the petrochemical industry, 8.5 billion KRW in national funding will be invested to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve energy efficiency. The project aims to be selected as Asia's first AI autonomous manufacturing lighthouse factory in the refining and petrochemical sector.

For the steel industry, 10 billion KRW in national funding will be invested to automate the large-diameter steel pipe manufacturing process and promote intelligence and unmanned operation of core processes. Large-diameter steel pipes are products with high global demand used in energy plants and eco-friendly energy transportation. The project plans to strengthen the global competitiveness of these high value-added large-diameter steel pipes.

For the shipbuilding industry, 4 billion KRW in national funding will be invested to optimize welding work in the complex ship block production process. It is expected to increase productivity in the shipbuilding industry and address labor shortages.

This project is expected to serve as a catalyst for AI transformation in the manufacturing sector by enabling local small and medium-sized enterprises to utilize the developed and demonstrated AI technologies beyond mere development and verification.

In particular, the automation of manufacturing and processes and digital transformation in the local petrochemical industry, which is facing difficulties due to the global economic downturn and industrial restructuring, are expected to greatly help improve productivity.

Jeonnam Province plans to discover additional AI autonomous manufacturing-related tasks in other manufacturing sectors in 2025 to secure the global competitiveness of Jeonnam's key and future industries.

Park Chang-hwan, Deputy Governor for Economy of Jeonnam Province, said, “The AI Autonomous Manufacturing Leading Project will successfully introduce AI technology into Jeonnam’s key industries of petrochemicals, steel, and shipbuilding, maximizing productivity and serving as an opportunity to further strengthen Jeonnam’s manufacturing competitiveness.”