New cooperation center in Dresden strengthens tech collaboration with South Korea

Fraunhofer IKTS and the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) will be working together under one roof in future. The aim is to research industrial technology solutions and put them into practice. To this end, a new cooperation center is being established at the IKTS site in Dresden-Klotzsche, where Korean companies and German researchers will come together. The focus is on major current challenges such as resource scarcity, the energy transition and digitalization. 

The South Korean Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are intensifying their relations in order to further optimize technology transfer. KEIT, one of the project management agencies for research and development (R&D) in the South Korean Ministry of Economic Affairs, is leading the way on the Korean side. On the German side, Fraunhofer IKTS is responsible.

The center acts as a coordination point for R&D cooperation between Fraunhofer Institutes, universities and companies from Germany and Korean research and industry partners. The two countries work together to determine which sectors have a particular need for innovative technologies and which technology funding programs are suitable. Seminars and workshops are intended to promote networking between the German and Korean partners. Both Fraunhofer IKTS and KEIT are supporting the center in Dresden-Klotzsche with human resources. The first German-Korean R&D projects are due to start this year.

KEIT specializes in coordinating, evaluating and supporting R&D in the field of industrial technologies. Of particular interest here is whether a technological solution is in demand by industry and how close it is to market maturity. On the other hand, IKTS contributes its expertise in the fields of energy and environmental technologies, green hydrogen and non-destructive testing.

"The joint center creates an international contact point that brings companies and researchers together to develop specific technology projects," emphasized IKTS Institute Director Prof. Alexander Michaelis during the opening ceremony on 20 February. Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Martin Dulig said: "We very much welcome and support the initiative of the Fraunhofer IKTS to establish a German-Korean cooperation center with the KEIT. The new center will help to link our Saxon researchers more closely with our Korean partners and deepen cooperation in the interests of both our countries."

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