KIST, KIMS join forces to advance semiconductors, AI, space and advanced materials

Two government-funded research institutes — one specializing in convergence research and the other in materials science — are joining forces to collaborate on key future industries including semiconductors, AI, space and aerospace, secondary batteries and next-generation energy.

The Korea Institute of Materials Science said it co-hosted the "KIST-KIMS Joint Workshop" with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology at the KIMS headquarters in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on June 9. The workshop gave both institutions an opportunity to share their research activities and capabilities, and to discuss potential collaboration and future exchanges centered on advanced materials and emerging core technologies.

KIST, South Korea's first comprehensive science and technology research institute, has led national innovation across a wide range of fields including semiconductors, AI, robotics, next-generation energy and advanced materials. KIMS, for its part, has underpinned the country's materials and components competitiveness through foundational research and commercialization work in metals, ceramics and composite materials.

The two institutions exchanged organizational overviews and shared their respective research capabilities and focus areas. Participants discussed potential collaboration across a broad range of fields tied to national strategic technologies — semiconductors, AI, space and aerospace, next-generation energy, biohealth and data-driven materials research. Discussions focused particularly on ways to combine the strengths of both institutions in materials technology, including advanced materials for semiconductor packaging, next-generation battery materials and processes, extreme-environment materials, carbon-neutral manufacturing technology and AI-based materials development platforms.

Both sides agreed that linking KIST's convergence research capabilities with KIMS's materials expertise could help secure future industrial competitiveness and address pressing national technological challenges. The two institutes plan to expand researcher exchanges and continue collaboration discussions, including identifying joint research topics and planning national research and development projects.

"Materials lie at the heart of competitiveness in key national industries — semiconductors, secondary batteries, future mobility, space and aerospace, and AI infrastructure," KIMS President Choi Cheol-jin said. "When KIST's convergence research capabilities meet KIMS's materials expertise, we will be able to generate powerful synergy in the field of national strategic technologies."