[DigitalToday reporter Jin-ho Lee] South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT on Thursday announced its plan to select new projects for the 2026 Nano and Materials Technology Development Program.

The program is the ministry's flagship ongoing program in materials, parts, equipment and the nano sector. The ministry has supported securing global-level core technologies to drive new future markets and industries and advance key industries, expanding research infrastructure and commercialising strong outcomes.

This year's budget for the program is 268.4 billion won. It is up 6.4 percent, or 16.1 billion won, from 252.3 billion won a year earlier. The total size of new projects is 47.5 billion won. Of that, the first-half notice will support 23.6 billion won across 21 project proposal requests. In April, it will announce projects set to start in the second half.

The notice focuses on securing core nano and materials technologies and underpinning national strategic technologies. It issues 21 new project proposal requests and begins accepting R&D plans, including 4 under Advanced Materials Technology Development for Global Supply Chains, 8 under Future Materials Technology Development for National Strategic Technologies, 3 under Materials Global Young Connect and 6 under Core Nano Future Materials Technology Development.

The new research topics set out specific research goals based on the 'Advanced Materials R&D Development Strategy' on 100 advanced materials and 100 future materials and the fourth National Nano Technology Roadmap.

Projects under Advanced Materials Technology Development for Global Supply Chains require company participation in technology development. They link materials, processes and systems and also raise the commercialisation potential of core technologies. The ministry plans to support 4 new projects, including materials for sensor-integrated OLEDs and carbon-fibre composites for space launch vehicles.

The Future Materials Technology Development for National Strategic Technologies field will 추진 5 new projects, including panel materials with intrinsic stability for multi-stage transformable form-factor displays and cathode materials to stabilise electrode-electrolyte interfaces for high-output all-solid-state batteries. Using data and AI, it will also support 3 new projects targeting essential core materials in the display, secondary battery and advanced mobility fields through the Material Hub, a collaboration model covering the full materials research cycle from exploratory design to process design.

Materials Global Young Connect tackles difficult problems in national strategic technology fields through cooperation with overseas research institutes led by young scientists in South Korea. It includes 3 new projects such as chiral-spin catalyst materials or reactive extrusion materials, and functional embolic biomaterials or materials for early diagnosis of mental illness.

Through Core Nano Future Materials Technology Development, it will support 3 new leading-type projects that present nano-technology solutions to help create new markets, including the development of customised nano-drug materials and an efficacy evaluation platform. It will also support 3 new competitive-type projects that help solve technical challenges needed to maintain and strengthen industrial competitiveness, including developing core technology for high-entropy nanostructured solid electrolyte materials.

Among these, the Material Hub, Materials Global Young Connect and competitive-type projects under Core Nano Future Materials Technology Development will be run under a staged competition format. It will select 2 projects for each project proposal request, then carry out stage evaluations and continue support for only 1 project with outstanding performance. The aim is to secure world-leading nano and materials core technologies by boosting the likelihood of research success and maximising results.

The notice for the new projects runs through March 3. Details are available on the ministry's website and the Korea Research Foundation website.