Government investment of KRW 235.1 billion this year will seek to secure core technologies in the key industries of semiconductors, displays and secondary batteries. (iClickArt) (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of this image is prohibited under copyright law.)
By Koh Hyunjeong
Government investment of KRW 235.1 billion this year will go toward securing source technologies in the key industries of semiconductors, displays and secondary batteries.
The Ministry of Science and ICT on Jan. 14 said it finalized the plan for its 2026 project for developing such technologies and will launch it.
The targets are semiconductors, displays and secondary batteries, with six projects spanning these sectors to receive new funding of KRW 24 billion.
Semiconductors will get support for the development of next-generation core technologies including intelligent, processing in memory (PIM) and compound semiconductors and 3D DRAM as well as human resource development.
The ministry will expand the My Chip service, which allows undergrads and grad students to make and verify the viability of semiconductors they designed, and MoaFab, an integrated platform linking six public chip fab institutions in Korea to back researchers and companies.
Also slated for launch are new chip projects linked with cutting-edge fab plants in the U.S. and Europe.
In displays, the ministry will support research on strategies based on private demand and technological advancement of ultra-high-resolution silicon wafer displays. Development of next-generation freeform displays will also be launched through sensor integration.
In secondary batteries, the plan is to keep developing core technologies for next-generation secondary batteries, foster professional staff and promote cooperation with the U.S. New projects in such batteries as well as aluminum air batteries will also prepare for future mobility.
More details like announcements of new projects and schedules for project calls will be uploaded late this month on the website of the National Research Foundation of Korea (www.nrf.re.kr).
hjkoh@korea.kr