The Government Sejong Office of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy./Courtesy of News1

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the opening of the Battery Solution Testbed Zone (BST ZONE), the country's largest integrated testing and research facility for secondary batteries.

The BST Zone is a facility that consolidates multiple infrastructure projects under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is designed to support research and development and testing throughout the entire cycle of secondary batteries.

It features comprehensive support functions that encompass the entire value chain, from materials and components to cells, modules, packs, and solid-state batteries.

According to the ministry, the opening of the BST Zone also inaugurated the Battery Industry Support Center in the specialized complex of North Chungcheong Province. The center is the largest facility within the BST Zone and consists of three buildings: a materials and components analysis building, a battery performance evaluation building, and a fire testing building.

The materials and components analysis building and the battery performance evaluation building are places where the physical and chemical properties of secondary battery materials and components are analyzed and their stability and reliability are evaluated. They precisely measure not only the thermal stability and durability of materials but also the content of heavy metals, and it is expected to provide tailored data that corporations will need during the new material development process.

The fire testing building is equipped with explosion-proof test facilities designed to rigorously verify the safety of secondary batteries by recreating fire and explosion hazards. This facility will evaluate the battery thermal runaway characteristics in high temperature and high-pressure environments and is expected to support safety enhancements from the design stage of secondary batteries.

Lee Seung-ryeol, head of the Industrial Policy Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, noted that "With the full-scale operation of the BST Zone, the specialized complex in North Chungcheong Province is expected to evolve from merely a production base to a strategic hub for next-generation secondary battery research and development," adding, "We will continue to expand government support so that corporations facing challenges in securing high-cost testing equipment can achieve global competitiveness."

Meanwhile, the specialized complex in North Chungcheong Province, designated in 2021, is dense with multiple secondary battery material, parts, and equipment companies centered around the LG Energy Solution Mother Factory. It has completed research and development on secondary battery pouches and electrolyte additives, which had relied over 80% on imports, based on cooperation between demand and supply companies.