The Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS, President Lee Jeong-hwan), a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT, has contributed to achieving direct economic and social outcomes for participating companies through its 'Comprehensive Service Corporate Support Project' using its own budget.

From April to December 2021, the Korea Materials Research Institute planned and implemented the 'Comprehensive Service Enterprise Support Project' by investing its own research funds for a total of nine months, and held a results evaluation meeting on February 28 to hear about the results.

The 'Comprehensive Service Enterprise Support Project' is the first case in which the Korea Materials Research Institute has invested its own budget in resolving national issues rather than in infrastructure investment for the development of the institute, since it determined that the key to resolving the issues of small and medium-sized enterprises (materials, parts, and equipment) due to the reorganization of the international value chain and export regulations against Japan is purpose-driven enterprise support and the verification of the materials industry connecting small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations.

The project targets companies related to eco-friendly future mobility in Gyeongnam region, such as hydrogen electric vehicles, e-mobility, secondary batteries, and autonomous driving, which are regional innovation industries, in the field of △'Future New Industry Innovation Technology Support Project', and △'Materials and Components In the field of 'commercialization support project', a total of 16 companies were selected and supported in two fields, targeting companies related to materials and components, which are the main fields of the Materials Research Institute.

The Korea Materials Research Institute (KMRI) supported participating companies with process improvement, new product development, intellectual property rights acquisition, and marketing. Performance analysis revealed that 12 out of 16 companies achieved economic benefits, including approximately KRW 109.1 billion in new sales and KRW 3.2 billion in cost savings. Eleven companies also created social benefits, including the creation of 48 new jobs. KMRI also provided marketing support for six projects and helped develop new sales channels. Considering the approximately KRW 600 million budget and the short-term support period of nine months, the KMRI achieved a high level of results.

A representative of a participating company that mainly produces axles said, “While supplying axles to major domestic and foreign automobile companies, we had been experiencing difficulties when Chrysler of the U.S. requested composite molding technology for the flange and shaft parts of the axle components.” He added, “Thanks to the computer analysis and composite molding process analysis technology of Dr. Kang Seong-hun’s research team at the Materials Artificial Intelligence Big Data Laboratory of the Korea Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, we were able to successfully mass-produce the mold design and prototype production, thereby opening the foundation for axle exports.”

Lee Jeong-hwan, the president of the Korea Materials Research Institute, said, “The key success factor of this project was the support of specialized personnel to solve the ultimate technological difficulties of companies in demand.” He added, “This year, the Korea Materials Research Institute promises to invest the same amount of its own research budget to develop this into a comprehensive corporate support project that provides practical help to companies.”