한밭대학교

- Hanbat National University Production Convergence Technology Research Institute leads securing future source technologies as a hub specialized in 'eco-friendly mobility materials and components’

□ Hanbat National University (President Oh Yong-jun) announced that the Department of Mechanical Engineering research team has been finally selected for the 'Glocal Lab (Consortium Type)' (headed by Professor Yoon Hong-seok of the Department of Mechanical Engineering), a 2026 academic research support project in the science and engineering field supervised by the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

□ This Glocal Lab consortium type is a large-scale national research support project that establishes global research hubs connecting the region and the world through convergence among excellent affiliated research institutes within universities, and intensively fosters succeeding generations of scholars.

 ○ The consortium forms a convergence body of excellent research institutes from three hub universities, including Hanbat National University (specialized in materials and components), the leading university Kongju National University (specialized in production and design), and KAIST (specialized in intelligence and control), and will promote research and development and talent fostering projects totaling KRW 21.6 billion (KRW 5.4 billion for Hanbat National University) over the next 9 years.

□ In this project, Hanbat National University will lead the 'development of convergent core technologies to maximize driving range of eco-friendly mobility through fostering advanced talent', centered around the on-campus 'Production Convergence Technology Research Institute' (Director Professor Yoon Hong-seok).

 ○ In particular, Hanbat National University will focus on developing 'material and component source technologies' that determine mobility energy efficiency and durability, exclusively undertaking key tasks such as ▲ next-generation high-efficiency electrode materials, ▲ high-heat-dissipation and high-thermal-insulation composite battery materials for thermal runaway prevention and weight reduction, and ▲ development of optomechanical components for responding to extreme environments such as bad weather.

 ○ A robust research team has been established with a large participation of nine full-time faculty members from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, including Director Professor Yoon Hong-seok, Professor Kim Young-sik, Professor Kim Ji-seok, Professor Noh Jin-seong, Professor Park Sung-yeon, Professor Shin Bu-hyeon, Professor Lee Ho-chul, Professor Jeong Gil-eon, and Professor Ha Ji-hwan.

□ Professor Yoon Hong-seok stated, "Maximizing driving range ultimately begins with materials and components, and Hanbat National University has taken on the first stage of the full-cycle value chain where high-efficiency materials and components developed by Hanbat National University are completed into actual vehicles through Kongju National University's production technology and KAIST's intelligent control," adding, "We will grow it into a hub research institute that supplies source technologies within the region necessary for materials, parts, and equipment companies in the Daejeon and Chungcheong region to transition into eco-friendly mobility component companies."

 ○ In addition, Hanbat National University plans to operate full-cycle scholarship support and industry-academia joint projects to foster early-career researchers as independent researchers for cultivating talent tailored to regional strategic industries, thereby creating a virtuous cycle ecosystem where advanced master's and doctoral-level research personnel produced through this can settle in regional companies and research institutes.