The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 22nd that it held an opening ceremony for the Advanced Manufacturing Incubating Center at the Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (RIST) in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, and began operations.
The RIST Advanced Manufacturing Incubating Center is Korea's first region-based startup support hub for advanced manufacturing built through public-private cooperation by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), North Gyeongsang Province, Pohang City, POSCO Group, and RIST.
The center focuses on resolving the technical and infrastructure limits that advanced manufacturing startups face when consolidating research and development results into actual products and production processes. Tenant corporations can use manufacturing demonstration facilities such as factory-type spaces and clean rooms. They also receive specialized support from RIST for commercialization and mass-production transition, including process design, testing and analysis, reliability verification, and mass-production engineering.
It will also link POSCO Group investment and programs supporting overseas market entry. In cooperation with local related institutions such as North Gyeongsang Province, Pohang City, and Gyeongbuk Technopark, it plans to foster a local growth ecosystem by connecting to government projects, discovering promising corporations, and supporting entry into industrial complexes.
The center currently houses advanced manufacturing startups in areas such as secondary-battery recycling, eco-friendly hydrogen production equipment, and eco-friendly new-material packaging. Going forward, it plans to select and nurture up to 10 corporations per year and operate a three- to five-year graduation system to continue discovering and attracting outstanding startups.
Mok Seung-hwan, director general for Startup Venture Innovation at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "The Advanced Manufacturing Incubating Center is the region's first public-private manufacturing startup hub that helps startups leap from lab-stage technologies to mass production," and added, "The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) will support promising manufacturing startups so they can take root locally and reach global markets by leveraging private manufacturing infrastructure and regional strengths, including RIST's practical technologies, POSCO Group's commercialization capabilities, and North Gyeongsang's strong industrial base."