Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, announced plans to foster 100 climate tech startups by next year and nurture three climate tech unicorn companies by 2030.
At the opening ceremony of the '2025 Gyeonggi Province Climate Tech Conference' held on the 24th at Gyeonggi Convergence Town in Suwon (3rd floor, Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation), Governor Kim stated, "Responding to the climate crisis has now become a matter of urgent survival," and shared these plans.
He explained, "Gyeonggi Province has made significant efforts to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity and, together with 14.2 million Gyeonggi residents, has created a new growth engine called the climate economy." He then announced the 'Three Major Visions for Climate Tech,' which detail the concrete aspects of the climate economy.
According to the Three Major Visions for Climate Tech, Gyeonggi Province will first establish a climate tech cluster in the Peace Economic Special Zone in northern Gyeonggi.
The climate tech cluster will serve as a forward base for nurturing climate tech, equipped with infrastructure that supports the entire climate tech lifecycle, from research and development (R&D) to commercialization.
Through this initiative, Gyeonggi Province aims to create a regional climate economy model that generates synergy between the economy and industry, and to develop northern Gyeonggi into a leading climate economy region.
Additionally, the province will establish a climate tech alliance and create a climate tech fund. By forming an alliance that enables comprehensive cooperation-from regulatory reform and investment attraction to demonstration projects-Gyeonggi Province plans to establish a climate tech fund that will boldly provide growth capital to companies with outstanding technologies.
Furthermore, Gyeonggi Province will set up the Gyeonggi Province Climate Tech Center as the control tower for climate tech development. With comprehensive planning and a strategic system, the province will focus on supporting and fostering climate tech, while also expanding climate living labs and citizen participation projects that allow residents to directly engage in climate tech technologies and demonstrations.
Governor Kim emphasized, "The goal we aim to achieve through the Three Major Visions for Climate Tech is to create a 'climate tech playground' where climate tech companies can freely challenge themselves and grow." He added, "Gyeonggi Province will foster 100 climate tech startups by 2026, 20 scale-up companies by 2028, and three unicorn companies in the climate tech sector by 2030."
Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is speaking at the '2025 Climate Tech Conference' held on the 24th. Provided by Gyeonggi Province
He continued, "The climate economy will not only overcome the climate crisis but also become a new growth engine for South Korea, and a new paradigm for the country will be created here. By combining the efforts of the public sector, industry, and businesses, we will vigorously open the era of the climate economy with a strong will to overcome the climate crisis, which is now embedded in our daily lives through climate tech."
Meanwhile, at the conference, the 'Gyeonggi Province Climate Tech Alliance' was launched as a collaborative system involving 20 organizations, including Gyeonggi Province, local governments, the central government, major corporations, and investment firms, to drive climate tech innovation.
The Climate Tech Alliance aims to strengthen connections between climate tech support projects, improve regulations that hinder the growth of the climate tech industry, and provide policy recommendations for climate tech. The alliance includes Gyeonggi Province, the Gyeonggi Regional Office of SMEs and Startups, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, Kakao Mobility, KT, investment firms, and climate tech companies, totaling 20 organizations.
Based on the climate tech alliance agreement, Gyeonggi Province plans to operate investment and climate tech cluster divisions to discuss ways to promote the climate tech industry and clarify the roles of each organization, ensuring that the alliance provides practical support to climate tech companies.
Notably, five climate tech startup development companies fostered by Gyeonggi Province-AP Green (Clean Tech), PM Energy Solution (Carbon Tech), Trimass (Eco Tech), Deep Plant (Food Tech), and Mobawheel (Geo Tech)-also participated in this 'Gyeonggi Province Climate Tech Alliance.'
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