[DigitalToday reporter Jin-ho Lee] Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has set up an industry-academia cooperation hub with Lotte Group to jointly pursue work from research and development (R&D) to commercialisation to address sustainability issues.

KAIST said on Sept. 13 it held a completion ceremony for the 'Lotte x KAIST R&D Center' at its main campus in Daejeon on Sept. 11. The event was attended by Shin Dong-bin (신동빈), chairman of Lotte Group, other Lotte officials, key KAIST officials and faculty from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

The centre was built using a 10 billion won construction donation provided by Lotte Group and funds from KAIST's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. It has 1 basement level and 6 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of about 4,298 square metres.

It is an industry-academia research hub that carries out the full R&D process, from basic and foundational research in future technologies to experiments, prototype production and technology commercialisation. The goal is to link research results to industrial sites by combining KAIST research capabilities with Lotte's industry and commercialisation experience. Research will focus on 3 areas: bio sustainability; carbon-neutral energy, materials and processes; and advanced food and healthcare.

Research at the centre will focus on 3 areas: bio sustainability; carbon-neutral energy, materials and processes; and advanced food and healthcare.

In bio sustainability, it will develop technologies that can replace fossil resources, such as biofuels and bioplastics, based on systems metabolic engineering. In carbon-neutral energy, materials and processes, it will pursue research into key technologies related to green hydrogen, renewable energy and batteries. In advanced food and healthcare, it will study future foods and healthcare technologies. It also plans to use AI across research to increase R&D speed and efficiency.

The construction of the centre is an extension of cooperation between KAIST and Lotte that has continued for more than 10 years. Since 2012, the two sides have operated commissioned master's and doctoral education programmes for Lotte employees. They also carried out technology transfers and personnel exchanges with Lotte Chemical. In 2022, they opened the 'Lotte Chemical-KAIST Carbon Neutral Research Center' to secure key carbon-neutral technologies and foster specialised talent.

The two sides will use the completion of the centre to expand cooperation from joint research to future technology development, demonstration and commercialisation. The centre also includes open research and collaboration spaces for joint use by Lotte and KAIST researchers, as well as the 'Shin Dong-bin Hall' to support researcher exchanges.

Shin said he expects the R&D centre to establish itself as an industry-academia cooperation hub that creates greater possibilities beyond the boundaries of schools and companies. He said Lotte will act as a strong partner so faculty and students can conduct research freely without fearing failure.

KAIST President Chung-sik Bae (배충식) said he will connect ideas and technologies from the laboratory to real value in industrial sites by combining KAIST's research capabilities with Lotte's industrial and commercialisation capabilities.