The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI)'s all-solid-state secondary battery field achieved the feat of being selected as the best achievement among only 12 out of 100 excellent R&D achievements selected by the Ministry of Science and ICT this year.

The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute announced on the 13th that its achievements in the fields of secondary batteries and nano 3D printing were selected as one of the '100 Best National Research and Development Achievements in 2023'.

The 100 Excellence Awards is a system that has been carried out annually since 2006 to raise public awareness and interest in the role of science and technology in driving national development and to encourage pride among scientists and engineers.

The 'Low-cost mass production technology of sulfide-based solid electrolyte for non-flammable all-solid-state secondary batteries' by Dr. Ha Yoon-cheol's team at the KERI Secondary Battery Research Group was selected as the best achievement in the machinery and materials field. This year's best achievement is the 'star among stars', with only 12 achievements selected out of 100.

This is the second consecutive year that the research center has achieved the best performance, following last year's 'Metal/graphene composite electrode for future mobility batteries and electrical components' technology.

All-solid-state secondary batteries replace the 'electrolyte' that transfers ions between the positive (+) and negative (-) electrodes with a solid, which has a low risk of fire or explosion, rather than a liquid. Because it is safe, there is no need for a separate device or separator to prevent temperature changes or external impacts, which enables high capacity/miniaturization/diversification of battery shapes. On the other hand, the price of solid electrolyte is 100 times that of liquid electrolyte, which is an obstacle to the early commercialization of all-solid-state secondary batteries.

The core technologies of Dr. Ha's team, which solved the difficult mission of lowering the manufacturing cost of solid electrolytes while ensuring quality, are the 'solution type', 'co-precipitation type', and 'wet milling type' methods.

The solution type is a 'special wet synthesis method' technology that can mass-produce high-performance solid electrolytes even with low-purity, inexpensive raw materials (starting materials) through additives that enable optimal synthesis. The co-precipitation method is the world's first achievement in mass-producing solid electrolytes at low cost only with a simple solution synthesis (one-pot) process without using expensive lithium sulfide. The wet milling type is a technology that manufactures high-quality solid electrolytes without damage at low temperatures below 200℃ and applies them optimally to plates and membranes. These technologies have been transferred to many domestic specialized companies (total of over 1.5 billion) and preparations are underway for mass production of solid electrolytes.

Dr. Ha Yoon-cheol said, “The key to commercializing all-solid-state secondary batteries that will solve the performance limitations and fire issues of electric vehicles is lowering the price of solid electrolytes,” adding, “The research center’s achievements will play a major role in not only promoting related industries, but also solidifying Korea’s position as the world’s No. 1 in secondary batteries.”

Dr. Seung-Kwon Seol's team from KERI's Smart 3D Printing Research Team also won recognition for their outstanding achievements in the machinery and materials fields with their 'robot arm-based all-round 3D printing technology.' KERI possesses world-class technology that can print electrically conductive elements and parts using only a 3D printer, and has proven this through various SCI-level papers and patents.

This time, they were named among the 100 best by showcasing a number of nano 3D printing technologies, including ‘Core technology for smart contact lenses that implement augmented reality (AR)-based navigation’, ‘Technology for printing functional patterns of microscopic circuits on three-dimensional surfaces using a robot arm’, and ‘Smart ink technology for printing conductive elements for biosensors’.

Dr. Seung-Kwon Seol said, “Future cutting-edge devices require electronic components with a free form factor to realize functions such as flexibility and wearability.” He added, “3D printed electronics technology is a promising global technology field that overcomes the limitations of existing limited component manufacturing methods, and KERI will be at the center of it.”

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute specialized in electricity under the National Research Council of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and ICT. The 100 technologies selected for excellence this year will be awarded a certificate and plaque from the Minister of Science and ICT, and will receive additional points in business and institution evaluations according to related regulations, and will also be published and distributed as a casebook.