KISTEP held the 156th KISTEP Wednesday Forum on April 12 under the theme of 'Strengthening competitiveness in next-generation secondary battery technology'.

▲ Opening remarks by Byung-Seon Jeong, President of KISTEP

In the opening remarks, President Byung-Seon Jeong said, "Given the increasing uncertainty in the global secondary battery industry, strategic responses are needed in advance. It would be great to contribute to future policies through informative discussion on how to secure technological competitiveness of secondary batteries and take the lead in the global market."

▲ Presentation by Jun-ho Song, Senior Researcher of Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI)

In the presentation, Dr. Jun-ho Song gave an outline of current trends and issues in Korea's secondary battery industry and suggested directions to lead the global market until 2030 with innovation strategies.

He forecasted that the industry is a promising market that will grow steadily for three reasons; ▲importance of securing future critical technologies ▲efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve "carbon neutrality" ▲intensifying competition among major countries to secure battery supply.

"Since 2020, Korea has maintained its position as a front runner in the global secondary battery market. Furthermore, in order to achieve the vision of becoming the world's strongest nation in the industry by 2030, the government has launched The Battery Alliance to promote cooperation between public and private sectors based on the innovation strategies announced in November last year."

※ 【Innovation Strategy for the Secondary Battery Industry】

1. Securing a Stable Supply Chain:

① Securing critical materials through trilateral cooperation

② Establishing a sustainable battery recycling system

2. Establishing an Advanced Technology Innovation Hub:

③ Securing leading-edge technologies focused on diversification

④ Establishing state-of-the-art domestic production bases

3. Building a Solid Domestic ecosystem:

⑤ Achieving domestic investments of over 50 trillion won by 2030 through comprehensive institutional improvements

⑥ Cultivating core talents from a long-term perspective

⑦ Nurturing small and medium-sized material companies to support the battery industry

In particular, he emphasized the need to reduce carbon emissions and recycle batteries, saying, “Eco-friendliness of the entire process, from manufacturing to disposal, is more important than high performance.” He also suggested "intellectualization of batteries" to use batteries safely.

In the panel discussion presided over by Seung-su Jun (Director General of the Office of National R&D Coordination, KISTEP), participants including Seog Gi Kang (Head of the Office of R&D & Human Resrouce, KBIA), Yong Joon Park (Professor of the Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Kyonggi University) and Seung-wook Eom (Director of the Next Generation Battery Research Center, KERI) had an in-depth discussion.

▲ Seog Gi Kang, Head of the Office of R&D & Human Resrouce, KBIA

"It is necessary to distinguish between the existing lithium-ion battery market and the next-generation secondary battery market," Mr. Seog Gi Kang said. "A two-track approach is required. In the field of lithium-ion batteries, companies should take the lead with government support. On the other hand, in the field of next-generation secondary battery, where Korea is a latecomer, government-led technological development should be carried out."

▲ Seung-wook Eom, Director of the Next Generation Battery Research Center, KERI

Dr. Seung-wook Eom proposed △ private-led R&D △ early commercialization research from research institutes △ parallel research by different institutions on the same topic and △ strategies for collaboration with the future mobility industry. "Since the current generation battery has already achieved the top position, demand-oriented development strategies are needed so that the industry can participate from the early stages to rapidly commercialize the next generation battery," he added. "The role of research institutes in maintaining the balance among various research entities is crucial."

▲ Yong Joon Park, Professor of the Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Kyonggi University

Professor Yong Joon Park made suggestions in terms of researcher training. "Although there are well-established programs for training master's and docto.ral level talents in main universities, SMEs still face challenges in securing sufficient human resources. The government should also focus on supporting small universities so that the SMEs can secure sufficient talents. Compared to the number of students majoring in the field, uncertainties such as commercialization issues are high. Research that we can manage the risks should be planned and the government should actively support related start-ups."