The South Korean government plans to identify over 1,000 climate tech startups by 2030 and nurture 30 potential unicorn companies. To achieve this, it will establish a financial support plan worth approximately 600 billion won, providing up to 10 billion won per company for commercialization, research and development (R&D), exports, and loans over a maximum of five years.
The Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced these initiatives during the second meeting of the Climate Tech Innovation Alliance held on the afternoon of October 29 in Seoul.
Climate tech refers to innovative technologies that contribute to greenhouse gas reduction and climate change response. This initiative follows the announcement of South Korea's Green Transition Strategy (K-GX) on October 7, focusing on supporting promising companies from technology development to commercialization and market entry.
To begin with, the government will expand the supply of growth funds. It will add climate tech to the support categories of the Future Environmental Industry Investment Fund and green loans, and will promote the establishment of specialized funds that invest in climate tech innovation companies, aiming for a financial support plan of around 600 billion won. This will also be linked to the 'Next-Generation Unicorn Project,' which supports investments at various growth stages.
Starting next year, the government will implement a bundled support program providing up to 10 billion won per company for a maximum of five years. This program will link support for commercialization, exports, R&D, and loans, with additional support for outstanding companies based on performance evaluations after the initial two years. The evaluation criteria will focus on growth outcomes such as sales, employment, and exports rather than input metrics like investment attraction or R&D expenditure.
Support for technology development and field demonstrations will also be strengthened. The government will promote 'climate tech strategic projects' that support innovative companies and their upstream and downstream partners as a supply chain unit, as well as high-risk, high-reward R&D projects. A 'climate value assessment' will be introduced to estimate the expected greenhouse gas reduction and contributions to climate change response in monetary terms.
Opportunities for field demonstrations utilizing facilities from large corporations and public institutions will be expanded. The government will enhance public-private collaboration and the use of K-Testbeds, and will consider designating new Climate Tech TIPS Towns. Regional infrastructure such as green convergence clusters, energy-specialized cities, and hydrogen-specialized clusters will also be utilized as growth hubs for innovative companies.
Regulations that hinder market entry will be revised. New regulatory exceptions for the climate tech sector will be established, and the scope of regulatory-free zones will be expanded, alongside efforts to enact a separate law for the promotion of the climate tech industry. Support for market access through public procurement and overseas investment and collaboration will also be strengthened.
Support measures will be established for five specific areas: clean tech, carbon tech, eco tech, food tech, and geo tech. Clean tech will leverage public demonstration bases such as those from Korea Electric Power Corporation and improve market entry conditions through the introduction of dedicated payment systems for small virtual power plant operators. Carbon tech will support the formation of initial markets by enhancing systems for carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology and product certification.
Eco tech will promote large-scale R&D for the transition to a circular economy, along with the establishment of regulatory exceptions for new technologies and circular economy zones. Food tech will focus on developing promising technologies such as eco-friendly packaging and alternative foods, as well as establishing regional research support centers and innovation clusters. Geo tech will expand the use of climate and weather data and support demonstrations and commercialization utilizing public infrastructure from organizations like the Korea Water Resources Corporation.
Minister of Climate Kim Sung-hwan stated, "To realize the Korean-style Green Transition (K-GX), the role of innovative companies that can translate green transformation into actual changes in industry and markets is crucial. We will actively support the entire growth process of companies with innovative technologies and ideas to help them grow domestically and leap into the global market."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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