South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT is backing development of fundamental convergence technologies that could change the landscape of future industries.

The ministry said on Wednesday it selected institutions to carry out 24 new projects under its 2026 "Future Promising Convergence Technology Pioneer" programme and will begin research in earnest.

The programme supports securing key fundamental technologies that could change future social paradigms through convergence among various technologies, fields and research entities. Under a competitive format, multiple projects conduct first-stage research on the same topic, and only 1 relatively strong project continues to the second stage.

The ministry issued a total of 13 requests for proposals after reviewing global technology trends, paper, patent and issue data, 264 cases of technology demand from research sites and expert opinions. It then selected 24 new projects from 65 applications received.

Under the challenge-type track, it selected 18 projects across 10 fields, including multisensory human augmentation sensors and interfaces, protein self-assembly materials, zero-power adaptive smart metamaterials and solid-state cooling. It will provide up to 6 years of support of 400 million to 800 million won a year per project.

Key projects include development of next-generation smart metamaterials that control the properties of radio waves and light by responding to changes in the external environment, such as temperature, light and pressure, without separate power supplies. It is also pursuing development of a programmable cooperative protein self-assembly material, dubbed "Protein Bot", that changes structure and function in response to external stimuli.

The ministry will also support development of an autonomous materials design and manufacturing platform based on AI and digital twins to minimise performance degradation even in space radiation, extreme temperatures and vacuum environments. Through this, it plans to secure fundamental technologies for high-reliability crystalline optoelectronic materials and solar cells. Challenge-type projects also include development of a 100cc-class ultra-compact, high-efficiency electrocaloric cooling system for on-chip cooling that directly removes heat generated from semiconductor chips.

Under the emerging new technology track, it selected 6 projects across 3 fields, including artificial muscle actuators and structural battery composite materials. Companies will participate in the research, and the ministry will provide up to 5 years of support of 600 million to 1.2 billion won a year per project.

It will develop a fibre-bundle-based artificial muscle platform that can be applied to humanoids and wearable devices, and intelligent artificial muscle actuator technology integrating sensing, computation and actuation functions. It will also develop structural battery technology that integrates the functions of structural materials and energy storage devices at the stages of materials, electrodes, electrolytes and cell structures.

It is also pursuing development of a high-speed-neutron-based non-destructive testing fundamental technology that detects concealed narcotics based on their composition without opening packages or items in security screening environments that process large volumes of goods.

Yoon Kyung-sook (윤경숙), director general for Basic and Fundamental Research Policy at the ministry, said it would proactively invest in promising convergence technology fields that could change the paradigm of future technologies and industries, and support them so they can lead to tangible results such as securing new fundamental technologies and pioneering new markets.