We will become a first mover leading the global air filter market.

ALINK Co., Ltd., a company specializing in the manufacture of aluminum fiber filters and a startup founded by researchers from the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Lee Jeong-hwan), completed the construction of its factory in the Busan branch complex and held a completion ceremony on the 11th.

ALINK Co., Ltd. is a startup founded by Dr. Lee Hye-mun of the Korea Institute of Materials Science based on the global source technology for 3D aluminum coating that she developed.

Based on its advantages of being easy to process, lightweight, and harmless to the human body, aluminum is currently a widely used material in construction, chemicals, and household products.

On the other hand, it also has the advantage of oxidizing to a greater degree compared to other substances when heated to high temperatures. Based on the world's first and only aluminum ink manufacturing and coating technology, ALINK Co., Ltd. is engaged in the business of conductive filter materials and modules for fine dust removal, and the business of conductive fibers for flexible electronics and wearable healthcare.

The 'aluminum fiber filter,' made by coating a standard non-woven fabric filter with aluminum nanostructures, can block and remove harmful substances such as fine dust, germs, and bacteria with high efficiency.

Currently, filter materials installed in air conditioners or ventilation systems in large buildings such as department stores, libraries, and officetels are only capable of ventilation and airflow, and cannot completely remove fine dust or bacteria and viruses in the air.

In addition, existing filters cannot be reused, causing another source of waste generation.

In contrast, the conductive filter module has the advantage of being reusable more than 6 times with only air and water cleaning, which can reduce carbon emissions from waste filters to less than 1/33 of the existing level.

ALINK Co., Ltd., having newly established itself within the Busan Technopark branch complex by completing a conductive filter material production facility, has thus secured a stable mass production system for manufacturing conductive filter modules, ranging from the production of conductive filter raw materials to the procurement of parts, the construction of assembly lines, and a quality verification system.

Furthermore, the conductive filter modules for HVAC systems, produced based on this mass production system, are currently undergoing demonstration testing at the Shinhan Financial Center in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, in collaboration with S&I Corp., a building management specialist. Based on the results to date, it has been confirmed that clean indoor air can be maintained using only the conductive filter modules applied to the HVAC system, without the need for an air purifier.

Lee Jung-hwan, President of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), stated, “We are sparing no effort in providing comprehensive support to enable the direct commercialization of technologies developed at the institute,” adding, “We hope that the success story of ALINK Co., Ltd. will serve as a stepping stone for research institute startups to become even more "I look forward to actively paving the way," he said.

Lee Hye-moon, CEO of Alink Co., Ltd., said, “With the spread of the COVID-19 virus, global attention is focused on ‘air filters.’ Based on the aluminum fiber filter manufacturing technology possessed by Alink Co., Ltd., we will do our utmost to establish ourselves as a first mover leading the global market in the air filter sector.”