According to the Korea Ministry of Trade press release on April 27, 2023, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 26 that on the occasion of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the U.S., the two countries held a “Korea-U.S. High-Tech Industry & Clean Energy Partnership” memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony on April 25 at Waldorf Astoria Washington DC and signed a total of 23 MOUs for stronger forward-looking Korea-U.S. high-tech cooperation.
The 23 MOUs were signed for cooperation in 10 high-tech industry areas (battery, bio, autonomous vehicles, aviation, robotics) and 13 clean energy areas (hydrogen, nuclear power, carbon neutral, etc.).
The unprecedented number of MOUs signed during the state visit can be seen as the result of a notably greater mutual demand for bilateral cooperation than there was before. Companies and institutions participating in the MOUs include Korea’s Doosan, Doosan Robotics, SK, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Hyundai E&C, Lotte Chemical, KEPCO, KHNP and the U.S.’ Boeing, Rockwell, GE Vernova, Centrus Energy, TerraPower, NuScale, Holtec International, ExxonMobil, Plug Power and Siemens.
For the high-tech area, companies, R&D and public institutions specializing in battery, bio, autonomous vehicles, aviation and robotics will engage in a wide variety of collaboration projects, such as joint research, personnel exchange, product development, certification and standardization.
1)Secondary battery: A cooperation MOU will be signed by Korean and U.S.’ associations, public and R&D institutions for the establishment of a mutually supporting network for market entrance and business attraction.
2)Bio: Three MOUs signed in bio are (1) business exchange support for stabilization of bio supply chain (2) joint international R&D and personnel exchange between Korea’s domestic industry, academia, R&D and the U.S. universities for international joint research & people exchange 3) three MOUs were signed by Korean and U.S. in vitro diagnostics and medical devices test certification institutions for across-the-board collaboration in bio.
3)Autonomous Vehicles: 1) Joint research and standard development between Korean R&D labs and U.S. associations for advancement of autonomous self-driving technology 2) two certification cooperation MOUs were signed between Korea-U.S. institutions
4)Aviation: An MOU was signed for Korean companies’ participation in the project led by Boeing, which is expected to create more opportunities for domestic firms to engage in the global aerospace industry.
5)Robotics: Korean and U.S. firms entered MOUs for joint product and technology development and global sales cooperation, allowing domestic firms to expand their U.S. market presence in the future.
6)Cyber security: The two countries signed an MOU for Internet of Things (IoT) cyber security technology exchange and for the U.S.’ Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA)’s designation of testing agency in Korea.
For clean energy, a total of 13 MOUs were signed to expand cooperation from the conventional energy sectors like oil and gas to new sectors like small modular reactor (SMR), hydrogen, ammonia, CCUS (carbon capture, utilization and storage), renewable energy and critical minerals.
1)SMR: Korea and the U.S. will accelerate business collaboration for entry into a third country’s market by combining Korea’s capabilities in production, operation and financing with the U.S.’ design know-how.
2)Nuclear fuel: Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and the U.S.’ Centrus Energy signed a supply MOU to diversify their nuclear fuel supply chain and reinforce cooperation between allies.
3)Clean energy & hydrogen: Korea and the U.S. have plans to expand business cooperation in clean power generation and renewable energy, as the importance of clean energy is rising in view of carbon neutral targets and energy security. The focus of cooperation will be on hydrogen-ammonia blending technology and CCUS among other high-tech joint R&D and technology cooperation, which will be extended to commercialization in the future. A clean hydrogen supply chain MOU was also signed between Korean and U.S. companies.
4)Minerals: For stable sourcing of critical minerals, K-SURE and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will provide financial assistance for Korean firms’ overseas investment projects, which will contribute to building a stable supply chain for domestic firms when investing in developing nations.
Overall, these outcomes are significant in that they are tangible, forward-looking achievements in high-tech areas.
Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang stated that “Korea and the U.S. are extending their alliance from military and security to high-tech,” and that he looked forward to seeing these “seeds of cooperation” come into valuable fruition, stating that “the Korean government will give full support” to related endeavors.
