Lotte has established an industry-academia cooperation hub with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to jointly research future technologies and commercialize them. The initiative aims to secure foundational technologies in future growth areas such as biotechnology, carbon neutrality, advanced food, and healthcare, linking them to Lotte's business operations.
Lotte announced on September 13 that it held the opening ceremony for the 'Lotte x KAIST R&D Center' on September 11 at KAIST's main campus in Daejeon. The R&D center serves as a research hub for addressing sustainability issues, including climate change and carbon neutrality, funded by a 10 billion won donation from Lotte and KAIST's own financial resources.
The center spans six floors above ground and one basement level, covering a total area of 4,298 square meters. It will focus on three main areas: bio-sustainability, carbon-neutral energy, materials, and processes, as well as advanced food and healthcare, conducting research on biofuels, plastics, green hydrogen, renewable energy, and batteries.
The collaboration is characterized by the integration of KAIST's research capabilities with Lotte's industry experience, allowing for a seamless process from fundamental research to experimentation, prototype development, and technology commercialization. The research will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate technology development.
Lotte and KAIST will also pursue joint research on strategic technologies for Lotte's subsidiaries, including semiconductor materials and sustainable energy, with plans to commercialize the technologies developed during the research process.
Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte, attended the opening ceremony and expressed his commitment to expanding industry-academia cooperation. He stated, "I hope the R&D center will become a hub for collaboration that transcends the boundaries between schools and businesses, creating greater possibilities. Lotte will be a strong partner to ensure that professors and students can research and challenge themselves without fear of failure."
KAIST President Bae Chung-sik presented a plaque of appreciation to Shin for his contributions to the development of research infrastructure and industry-academia cooperation.
"Today's opening is not just the completion of a building but the beginning of a new collaboration," Bae said. "By combining KAIST's research capabilities with Lotte's industrial and commercialization strengths, we will connect the ideas and technologies from our laboratories to real value in the industry, creating new growth engines and sustainable solutions for South Korea's future."
The partnership between Lotte and KAIST began in 2012 with a program for master's and doctoral education and has since expanded to include technology transfer and personnel exchanges. In 2022, they established the 'Lotte Chemical-KAIST Carbon Neutral Research Center' to intensify their joint research efforts, which has led to the completion of eight projects in the carbon neutrality field and the acquisition of 15 patents.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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