Seven New Projects Designated for 2025 APRO R&D
Close Management and Open Competition Models Introduced
Accelerated Equipment Procurement and Process-Oriented Evaluation System Implemented
Seven projects, including the Ministry of Science and ICT's "Resource-Circulating Ultra-High Energy Density Refueling-Type Aluminum-Air Battery" project, have been newly designated as part of the "2025 Innovative and Challenging APRO (Aim-high, Problem-solving, Revolutionary, Over & over) Research and Development (R&D) Project Group."
APRO R&D is a program that selects and supports R&D projects with the highest or first-in-the-world level of achievement, characterized by Aim-high (challenging), Problem-solving (expected impact), Revolutionary (innovation), and Over & over (ripple effect). While these projects carry a high risk of failure, they are expected to generate groundbreaking ripple effects if successful. Selected projects are supported with a differentiated system.
On August 21, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced on its website the list of 39 APRO R&D projects, including the seven newly designated for 2025.
Among the seven newly designated projects, four are "intensive management" projects, in which the overall manager is granted full authority and responsibility for planning, selection, and evaluation of the innovative and challenging tasks, allowing for close management. The remaining three are "open competition" projects, in which multiple tasks are selected and compete for the target, and the process, results, and evaluation outcomes are made public.
The four intensive management projects include: ▲Resource-Circulating Ultra-High Energy Density Refueling-Type Aluminum-Air Battery, ▲Regional Hub AX Innovative Technology Development, ▲Space Small Unmanned Manufacturing Platform Demonstration Project, and ▲Core Technology Development for Ultra-High-Speed Hyper Tube Partial Vacuum. The three open competition projects newly designated are: ▲Future Pan-Technology Project, ▲Translational Clinical Research on Anti-Aging and Rejuvenation Regenerative Medicine, and ▲AI Champion Project Support.
Starting next year, these newly designated projects will be open for new proposals and, like existing projects, will receive customized institutional support to actively pursue high-risk, challenging research without fear of failure.
When introducing research facilities and equipment, expedited procurement through direct contracts will be possible, reducing the introduction period from more than 120 days to about 50 days. For final project evaluations, a process-oriented evaluation system will be applied, regardless of success or failure. In addition, for outstanding achievements, follow-up research may proceed without a separate proposal process to maximize industrial ripple effects, and projects that encounter justified trial and error due to bold challenges may be concluded without penalties.
In the future, for the APRO R&D project group, the overall manager will be granted full authority over research management. To ensure responsible operation, the government plans to amend the National Research and Development Innovation Act, establish competency assessment models, and operate training programs as part of a systematic nurturing policy.
Park Inkyu, Director-General for Science and Technology Innovation at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, "In this era of technological hegemony, it is essential to create an environment where researchers can freely take on high-difficulty challenges without fear of failure to ensure the nation's future survival and prosperity." He added, "Through the implementation of APRO R&D policies, we will continue to address on-site difficulties and promote challenging R&D."
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