K-water is enhancing support for the validation and commercialization of innovative technologies from small and venture enterprises. The number of institutions participating in the National K-Testbed has been expanded to 83, with the addition of accredited testing and verification organizations to improve the professionalism and reliability of technology validation.
On October 13, K-water announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with nine institutions at its headquarters in Daejeon to expand support for the innovative growth of small and venture enterprises.
The National K-Testbed is a national integrated platform that opens public and private infrastructure to small and venture companies, supporting the validation of innovative technologies and market entry. Since its launch in 2021, it has opened 1,627 validation infrastructures and supported 645 technology validation projects.
K-water serves as the overall operating agency for the National K-Testbed, managing the cooperation system among participating institutions.
New participants in this agreement include the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the National Institute of Ecology, Busan Port Authority, Yeosu Gwangyang Port Authority, the Korea Nano Convergence Association, and the Korea Agricultural Technology Promotion Agency. With these additions, the total number of institutions in the National K-Testbed has increased to 83.
Three specialized institutions have also joined to enhance the objectivity and reliability of technology validation. The Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL), the Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA), and the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR) will provide tailored technical consulting to support small and venture enterprises in setting performance goals and conducting testing and verification.
Results from technology performance validation through the National K-Testbed have been utilized in the market entry process for companies, including evaluations for the designation of innovative products by the Public Procurement Service. However, differences in performance goal setting and verification methods among participating companies have raised the need to enhance the professionalism of the technology validation process.
K-water aims to increase the credibility of technology verification and external trust in validation results through the participation of these specialized institutions, thereby strengthening the commercialization competitiveness of small and venture enterprises.
Participating institutions will collaborate on technology validation through the opening of validation infrastructure, discovering outstanding companies, linking policies, and providing accredited testing and certification, as well as technical consulting.
In particular, the plan is to strengthen the comprehensive support system that connects technology validation, testing and verification consulting, and entry into the public market by linking the expansion of new participating institutions with the technical cooperation of specialized institutions.
Han Seong-yong, head of K-water's Green Infrastructure Division, stated, "This agreement will further enhance the scope and depth of technology validation support provided by the National K-Testbed. We will do our utmost to provide comprehensive support so that small and venture enterprises with innovative technologies can secure competitiveness in domestic and international markets."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.