Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has achieved the feat of producing three people who have contributed to the advancement of science and technology by awarding them with the Science and Technology Medal and other awards on Science Day in recognition of their contributions to science and technology.

KERI announced on the 29th that Dr. Ha Yoon-cheol, Dr. Jeon Yeon-do, and Dr. Kim Dae-ho were selected as those who have contributed to the advancement of science and technology at the 2024 Science and Information and Communication Day Government Awards, receiving the 'Science and Technology Medal', 'Prime Minister's Citation', and 'Minister of Science and ICT Award', respectively.

Dr. Ha Yoon-cheol (Director and Principal Researcher) of the KERI Next-Generation Battery Research Center was recognized for his contributions to the advancement of science and technology and industry through the development of a ‘low-cost mass production technology for solid electrolyte materials for next-generation all-solid-state secondary batteries’, which led to domestic and international patent applications and technology royalties of KRW 1.76 billion.

All-solid-state secondary batteries replace the electrolyte that transfers ions between the positive (+) and negative (-) electrodes with a solid, which has a low risk of fire or explosion, rather than a liquid. However, the price of solid electrolytes is 100 times that of liquid electrolytes, which has been an obstacle to the early commercialization of all-solid-state secondary batteries.

Dr. Ha Yoon-cheol's team has received much attention for successfully securing quality while lowering the manufacturing cost of solid electrolytes through various methods such as 'co-precipitation type', 'solution type', and 'wet milling type'. In particular, this achievement was awarded the 'Best' award among only 12 out of 100 excellent national R&D achievements last year, and was also awarded the Science and Technology Medal this year, which added to its value.

Dr. Jeon Yeon-do (chief researcher) of the Electric Power Research Center, who received the Prime Minister’s Award, was recognized for developing the core original technology for ‘high efficiency of industrial motors of 15kW or less to super premium level (IE4).’ It is expected to make a great contribution to energy saving and greenhouse gas reduction by improving the efficiency of industrial motors, which are considered the devices that consume the most electricity in the world.

The research team went further and built a 'Motor Web-based Open Platform' to create a one-stop system that can help domestic companies reduce the development period and cost of IE4-class motors and even solve various problems. It is evaluated that the domestication of design and analysis technology, which had been entirely dependent on expensive foreign software in the motor development process, was achieved and that the acquisition of standard model design data of various capacities greatly contributed to strengthening the competitiveness of domestic motor technology.

Dr. Dae-Ho Kim (Principal Researcher) of the Nano Convergence Research Center received the Minister’s Award for his contribution to leading the innovation of industrial manufacturing processes through microwave heating technology. This is a unique technology that can instantly and uniformly heat conductive materials such as metals at high temperatures by utilizing the magnetic field of microwaves, which are mainly used in microwave ovens. It has received a lot of attention as it can quickly and effectively perform heat treatment processes required for various industries such as displays, semiconductor devices, and solar cells.

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute under the National Research Council of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Science and ICT. The 'Government Award in Commemoration of Science and ICT Day' is held every year at the end of April to reward those who have contributed to the promotion of science, technology, and ICT, and to enhance the pride and honor of scientists and ICT professionals, and to present a vision for the future of science and digital technology in the Republic of Korea.