INTERVIEW KERI chief eager to develop 'big technologies' for humanity

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute President Kim Nam-kyun speaks at the institute's headquarters in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Dec. 12. Above him are pictures of his predecessors. Courtesy of Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute

Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) President Kim Nam-kyun's plan this year is to launch dedicated teams of researchers to work on KERI's "big technologies," according to the head of the country's only state-run researching body on electrotechnology.

Electrotechnology is a technology with an impact on the global economy large enough to potentially generate revenue from 10 billion won ($7.7 million) to 100 billion won. It could take at least five years and as long as 30 years to develop such technology.

To build such technology requires deep-rooted, unwavering regulations and stable working environments, he says. The president said he will see to it that those conditions are met and cater to his new ambitious teams starting this year.

"Our R&D cost-to-technology revenue ratio is now almost on par with that of advanced countries. The rate of how much our technologies leave our labs and are implemented in actual fields in practice is also high enough to be globally competitive," Kim said during an interview with The Korea Times. "Nonetheless, we must keep challenging ourselves to make breakthroughs. I will reshuffle the institute's regulations so that our researchers can devote themselves to developing the big technologies for a period as long as almost an entire generation."

A potential big-technology field by KERI, according to Kim, is power semiconductors, a type of chip that controls electricity flow and is essential for all electronic appliances and devices. In a human body, it is like a muscle. The chip's key material has been silicon, but it is now being replaced with silicon carbide (SiC) because, compared to silicon, it can withstand voltage 10 times higher and remain invulnerable to heat two times hotter. Consuming less power than silicon, an SiC-based power chip can also be reduced in size 10 times smaller. Equipped in an electric vehicle, it can boost energy efficiency by 10 percent or more.

KERI now produces SiC chips completely domestically, a finesse only achieved by Germany and Japan so far, according to Kim. The agency has transferred the new chip technology to a private car firm and Kim expects the next-generation chips will be equipped in cars manufactured by the firm.

"In 2021 when automotive chips were in the worst shortage since the outbreak of COVID-19, we introduced a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor) technology to manufacture automotive semiconductors at a lower price in a greater volume. That was pretty innovative," Kim said.

"KERI has been researching power semiconductors since even before I entered the institute in 1990. Back then, the country's technological level was way behind advanced countries like Japan and Germany and had so little data. But KERI has been supporting me and my team and I think we have just begun to see outcomes of our past efforts in a series of breakthroughs."

This circuit-breaker for a high-voltage power transmission line is equipped with K6 eco-friendly insulation gas that was developed by KERI to replace environmentally hazardous sulfur hexafluoride, last November. Courtesy of Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute

This year, KERI saw two technologies it had developed, a technology to manufacture solid-state sulfide electrolytes for fire-proof solid-state rechargeable batteries at low cost and all-round 3D printing technology using robotic arms, selected by the Ministry of Science and ICT for the country's 100 greatest scientific breakthroughs of the year.

The former, selected for 12 best-of-the-best among the list, managed to reduce the manufacturing cost for solid-state electrolytes — 100 times more expensive than liquid-state — while preserving quality. The technology has been transferred to multiple private firms in the country for more than 1.5 billion won altogether, according to Kim.

With a 3D printing technology that enables electricity induction inside its print-outs, KERI promoted its various applications, including smart sensors for augmented reality (AR)-based navigation and electric circuit designing on 3D planes using robotic arms.

Besides the high-profile achievements, KERI retains technologies that can change the world immensely. Among them, the development of a next-generation energy management system (EMS) is Kim's No. 1 pick. Magnetron technology for treating cancer using radioactive rays, electric mobility technologies for ships, drones and flying cars, technologies for protecting electrical appliances from thunder and remote in vitro diagnostic devices are also his personal favorites.

"Domestication of a new EMS that prevents blackouts came fifth in the world," Kim said. "We are now working on an upgraded version of the EMS that employs cutting-edge technologies like AI and renewable energy sources."

Having led KERI since January last year, Kim wants the institute to become the country's No. 1 troubleshooter for private companies. He likes to consider the institute as the country's top chief technology officer and a core base for key technologies.

"More than 1,000 private companies become KERI's partners each year as they want us to test and certify their new technologies," Kim said. KERI has been a member of Short-Circuit Testing Liaison (STL), a top-tier global certification group for electric devices, since 2011. "Because of our presence here, local companies don't need to ship their electric devices that weigh tons to other countries for testing. That adds another global competitive edge to made-in-Korea appliances for exports."

In 2016, KERI revamped an old testing facility and introduced the country's only testing facility for electric devices and equipment with a capacity of 4,000 megavolt amperes (MVA). Companies that were waiting in line indefinitely with their own technologies for KERI's certification finally saw the queue getting shorter thanks to the new testing facility.

"Our country's testing facilities boast the world's No. 2 in scale," Kim said. "We will be the breeding ground for the country's technologies and an optimal partner for companies that need technological support."