In total, there are six of these coordination offices across the world, with the objective of consolidating collaboration between South Korean companies and international research institutions. The coordination office in Germany, called K-FAST – Korea Fraunhofer Office of Science and Technology, is joining a network of offices in the US, including at MIT, Yale and Johns Hopkins University. Together, they form a collaboration platform that South Korean companies want to use to network more closely with partners of excellence across the world.

The tasks of these offices include providing both sides with relevant expertise, planning joint research and development projects and supporting researchers from South Korea as part of the MOTIE-funded program. The organizer and project sponsor of the program is the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT). As part of the international partnership, several million US dollars will be invested in Germany alone.

In Berlin, KIAT and Fraunhofer inaugurated the coordination office in the presence of representatives from the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and sealed their close collaboration with the signing of a letter of agreement. Dr. Johann Feckl, Head of Pre-Competitive Research and International Affairs at Fraunhofer, said: “We are delighted that South Korea has selected Fraunhofer, together with renowned US research institutions, as a partner of excellence to jointly expedite developments in areas such as battery cell and semiconductor technology. Our close alliance is vital because South Korea is not only an important political partner but also one of the ten most innovative countries in the world. We can learn a lot from each other and generate new knowledge together.”

Under the umbrella of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, eight Fraunhofer institutes will be involved in the partnership: the Fraunhofer Institutes for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP in Dresden, for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI in Berlin, for Integrated Systems and Device Technology IISB in Erlangen, for Applied Polymer Research IAP in Potsdam, for Production Technology IPT in Aachen, for Materials Recycling and Resource Strategies IWKS in Hanau as well as for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS (project lead) and for Material and Beam Technology IWS, both in Dresden. Additional Fraunhofer institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg, will be involved in future projects. KIAT is also inviting other German institutions and companies to join the partnership.