Celebrating its 47th anniversary, the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) is challenging itself to create technologies with significant and widespread ripple effects and achieve massive results that everyone in the country can be proud of.

The Korea Electric Power Research Institute held a ceremony to commemorate its 47th anniversary on the 26th. This event is the first founding anniversary ceremony held by the 15th president, Nam-Kyun Kim, who took office in January.

In his founding anniversary speech, President Kim Nam-gyun said, “KERI is Korea’s only specialized electrical research institute that has contributed to the development of our country’s electric power industry for nearly half a century,” and “Recently, it has been responsible for the next-generation growth engine of Korea through the development of core technologies that will lead the future electrification era.”

In addition, the research center's past representative achievements included the 'Korean Distribution Automation System (KODAS)' that minimized power outage time, 'domestication of 765kV power facilities' that contributed to stabilizing power supply and demand, 'nuclear power plant instrumentation and control system' that improved reliability, safety, and availability of nuclear power plants, 'domestication of power system operation system (EMS)' that contributed to preventing major power outages and optimizing power production, and 'development of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor commercialization technology' that increases electric vehicle power efficiency by more than 10%.

He continued, “This year, research achievements in the fields of secondary batteries, 3D printing, aerospace mobility, and machine tools were outstanding, and in the testing and certification sector, there were good results such as the establishment of an ultra-high voltage direct current (HVDC) testing infrastructure and expansion of countries where test reports are accepted,” and praised the employees’ achievements, saying, “In the administrative field, the certification as the Best Human Resources Development (Best HRD) institution and selection as the Best Institution at the Korea SNS Awards have greatly elevated the status of the institution.”

President Kim said, “We have done well so far, but now is the time to go further and create large-scale achievements that will greatly benefit the country and make the people proud,” and added, “We need to develop highly recognized technologies that people can immediately think of when they think of KERI.”squo;KERI emphasized the challenge of developing ‘big technology’.

President Kim, who defined big technology as “achievements with large and wide-ranging ripple effects as the name suggests,” said, “Big technology may not emerge during the president’s term, and it may take decades for generations to be passed down, but I want to create an organizational culture where everyone works hard to challenge themselves, encourages each other’s efforts, and celebrates and enjoys future success together,” and asked for the active participation of employees.

Finally, President Kim concluded his founding anniversary speech by saying, “As we enter the era of electrification, we will face countless opportunities to change the world. I hope that you will continue to think hard and do your best with new and broad perspectives so that you can fulfill your calling as ‘KERI people’ responsible for the electrical and power technology of the Republic of Korea.”

At the ceremony held on this day, awards were given to the President of the National Research Council for Science and Technology, the Model Employee Award, the Integrity Award, the Long-Term Service Award, and the Excellent Safety Management Research Lab Award.

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute specializing in electricity under the National Research Council of Science and Technology (NRST) of the Ministry of Science and ICT. It was established on December 29, 1976, to promote the electrical industry and power industry in Korea. In addition to its headquarters in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, KERI has three regional offices (Ansan, Uiwang, and Gwangju) and employs approximately 800 people. Key areas of business include power grids and renewable energy, eco-friendly power devices, electric propulsion and industrial application (motors, robots, AI, etc.) technologies, nano-new materials and batteries, power semiconductors, electric medical devices, and internationally recognized testing and certification for power devices.