"Our goal is to precisely manage building energy and cut carbon emissions by 5%."
Manager Kwon Hyeok-min of the Technology Innovation Team at Kolon GLOBAL's AM Business Office said this in a recent interview with ChosunBiz held at Kolon Tower in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi.
Kolon GLOBAL has joined hands with the small business T&M Tech to push forward an "open innovation" project to reduce energy use in existing buildings.
Open innovation is a method of jointly developing technologies with outside specialist firms, moving away from relying solely on in-house development. In an industry environment where competition in technology is intensifying, it is drawing attention as a way for large corporations and small businesses to combine their strengths and find swift solutions.
◇ Energy in existing buildings, precisely managed with AI and IoT
Kolon GLOBAL manages about 100 existing buildings nationwide, including hotels, offices, and Knowledge Industry Complexes. Manager Kwon said, "Regulations such as building energy reporting and rating systems and the total greenhouse gas emissions cap are being strengthened, but existing buildings are harder to manage due to structural limitations."
Kwon explained, "After gathering data on electricity, gas, heating and cooling, and facilities, we are applying AI and IoT technologies to find optimal energy operation plans," adding, "If we finely adjust the operating hours and temperature settings of HVAC units, we can lower electricity bills, and management fees naturally decrease as well."
Because fully shutting down major equipment such as boilers, dryers, and chillers is difficult, the key is efficiency through "reducing operating hours."
The technology is being developed with T&M Tech, which has store management technology based on the Internet of Things (IoT). Kolon GLOBAL provides vast building data and designs the technical direction, and T&M Tech concretizes the on-site application model. The two companies set a goal of reducing building energy use and carbon emissions by 5% each by 2027.
Manager Kwon said, "After verifying the effects at two demonstration sites, we plan to expand the application to 10 sites each year."
◇ "Open innovation is a long-distance marathon; persistence matters"
Kolon GLOBAL is building a win-win model in which it speeds up technology development through external collaboration, while small businesses commercialize technology by using large corporations' data and infrastructure.
Manager Kwon said, "Large corporations can take time because their decision-making process is cautious, but small businesses are fast and have the advantage of being able to focus deeply on specific fields such as energy and IoT."
This collaboration is based on the "SME technology innovation development project" of the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation and the Korea Technology and Information Promotion Agency for SMEs (TIPA). It is a structure in which large and small businesses grow together through joint research.
Kwon emphasized, "Scalability is more important than the technology itself," adding, "Because the buildings managed by Kolon GLOBAL vary in size and use, technology that works only for specific buildings has limits."
Kwon added, "Technology development is not a sprint but a long-distance marathon," and said, "True 'win-win' is possible only with persistence that does not waver in the face of unexpected variables on the ground, and with the will to pioneer the market together."