김남균 한국전기연구원(KERI) 원장이 신년사를 통해 월드 클래스 급 성과 창출에 나서겠다며 기술사업화 전략 강화 및 조직·제도 정비를 다짐했다.
Strengthening technology commercialization strategy and reorganizing organization and system
In his New Year’s address, Kim Nam-gyun, president of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), pledged to strengthen technology commercialization strategies and reorganize organizations and systems to create world-class results.
The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute began its work for the new year of Eulsa (乙巳年) by holding a ceremony for all employees on the 2nd.
In his New Year’s address that day, President Kim Nam-gyun said, “Even in the turbulent year of 2024, which was full of difficulties, our achievements were greatly recognized,” and mentioned the following achievements: △ producing 2 out of 15 outstanding achievements (smart electrode research team, PCS control team), △ receiving the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award in commemoration of World Standards Day, and △ obtaining ‘leisure-friendly certification’ from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
President Kim said, “Historically, difficulties have been repeated every year, but KERI has contributed to our country having the world’s highest electricity quality index through the commercialization of technologies such as the ‘Korean Distribution Automation System (KODAS)’ and the ‘Next-generation Power System Operation System (EMS)’,” and asked for the continued efforts of his employees, saying, “The growth technologies that we are currently diligently researching, such as secondary batteries, power semiconductors, carbon nanomaterials, and medical devices, will be greatly recognized for their value when the ‘electrification’ era fully arrives in the future.”
The year 2025 will be a year when top-tier companies will flock to the world He set a goal to make this year the first year to challenge the development of 'class-level' technology, and said, "We will continuously implement measures such as reorganizing related organizations and systems, reinforcing personnel, and strengthening technology commercialization strategies so that we can create super-large-scale results that many people will immediately think of when they think of KERI."
Finally, President Kim concluded his New Year’s address by saying, “We should not be confined to the rigid framework of the scale of research funds or the goals of the project, but our big dreams and imagination for the future should determine our limits.” He added, “I hope that we can develop our imaginations by sharing them with our colleagues, and that in the process, we can look at our colleagues’ strengths and be grateful to each other, leading to a wonderful organizational culture.”
Meanwhile, at the ceremony held that day, an awards ceremony was held for the team that achieved the best results in 2024.
This year's KERI Person of the Year award went to Dr. Gil-Seong Byun (Energy Platform Research Center), who developed the 'Optimal Operation Technology for a Renewable Integrated Power System Operation System (EMS)' and successfully transferred the technology (KRW 1.3 billion) to a company.
The technology is evaluated to have greatly contributed to the transition to the era of regional power grids by efficiently operating and managing renewable energy that is difficult to control and subject to high volatility, thereby optimizing power production and consumption.
The grand prize winners were: △Future KERI e-ship team △Virtual power plant type microgrid operation technology development team △High-voltage switchgear environmental test chamber construction team △Institutional operation contribution team through systematic research support, and the excellence awards went to △Development of defect classification technology for silicon carbide materials for power semiconductor devices △High-energy density lithium-sulfur battery technology development team △Transparent piezoelectric ceramic material development team △Electronic transformer test base construction and type test service provision team △KERICA business promotion team △Exhibition and science culture diffusion team that shines KERI employees.