KERI at 50: “Leaping Forward as a Top Power Policy Think Tank”

[Financial News] The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), a government-funded research institute that has supplied energy to South Korean industry, marked its 50th anniversary by setting out a path forward for designing a national energy highway.
At a ceremony held on the 5th in the main auditorium at KERI’s Changwon headquarters, KERI President Kang Sang-hee outlined three new directions for a major leap forward. “By combining artificial intelligence and digital transformation technologies, we will become a ‘top power policy think tank’ that designs the national energy highway, and secure strategic technologies such as power semiconductors and secondary batteries to become the ‘strongest shield’ protecting advanced industries,” he said, expressing his ambition.
He continued, “Building on world-class testing and certification infrastructure, we will establish a ‘regional government-industry-academia collaboration platform’ that brings together local governments, universities and businesses.” The institute also highlighted the great legacy of the past half-century and declared a new leap forward to lead the coming age of “Electrification.”
President Kang also emphasized, “Our 50 years of sincere devotion to electricity, which is invisible to the eye, have blossomed into the clearest miracle of all: the development of South Korean industry.” He added, “As with the vision announced today, we will stand at the center of the nation’s electrification era and forge ahead toward a century of innovation that will transform the world for the better.”
That day, KERI announced its vision: “With the power of electricity! With the light of innovation! KERI at the heart of the future electrified world.”
Founded in 1976 as a small research institute in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, KERI has grown into a key government-funded research institute with a budget of 191.5 billion won and 902 employees. With its Changwon headquarters and four regional offices in Ansan, Uiwang, Jeonnam-Gwangju and Gimhae, KERI has established innovation hubs across the country and is preparing for a future that will change the world for the better, building on the legacy of the past 50 years.
KERI has achieved a number of outstanding technological breakthroughs. In 1997, it developed the Korea Distribution Automation System (KODAS), the first of its kind in the country, cutting the average duration of power outages from 53 minutes to just 3.6 minutes. In 2003, to meet rapidly growing electricity demand, it became the first in the world to commercialize 765-kV double-circuit, vertical-configuration ultra-high-voltage power equipment. In 2014, it became the fifth in the world to domestically develop the Next-Generation Energy Management System (EMS), which prevents nationwide blackouts, among other major milestones.
Since the 2010s, KERI has further expanded its achievements. In 2015, it established the Electric Ship Land-Based Test Site (LBTS), the world’s third facility of its kind after those in the United States and the United Kingdom. The site has enabled comprehensive performance testing of submarines’ core propulsion systems and dramatically shortened construction times, providing strong support for South Korea’s maritime defense industry. KERI is also helping safeguard national security by developing key protective components to shield major national facilities from electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attacks. At the same time, it is leading the development of advanced materials that can create a commanding technological edge, including the domestic development of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors, mass-synthesis technology for solid electrolytes used in all-solid-state batteries, and high-performance electrodes based on carbon nanomaterials.
[email protected] Yeon Ji-an Reporter