Hanon Systems looks beyond cars to farm, defense and space with off-road thermal tech push

Hanon Systems is launching an industry-academia-research collaboration to extend its passenger vehicle thermal management technology into off-road mobility sectors including agriculture, construction and defense. The initiative aims to identify future business opportunities as electrification and autonomous operation technologies spread beyond conventional automobiles to a wide range of industrial equipment.

Hanon Systems, the automotive thermal energy management solutions company under Hankook & Company Group, announced Monday that it signed an MOU with Chungnam National University on June 19 at the university's main building in Daejeon to establish and operate an "Off-Road Mobility Industry-Academia-Research Innovation Institute."

The agreement was designed to connect the research capabilities and field experience of Chungnam National University, the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, the Korea Automotive Technology Institute and Hanon Systems. The participating organizations plan to pursue joint research and development projects, share research facilities and equipment infrastructure, and cooperate on training and exchanging specialized personnel.

Hanon Systems will serve as a key corporate partner in establishing the institute, with a particular focus on joint research and R&D projects. Through this collaboration, the company plans to examine thermal management technology requirements across a range of off-road mobility sectors — including agriculture, construction, defense, marine and space — and explore the potential to expand into new business areas.

Off-road mobility encompasses agricultural machinery, construction equipment, military hardware and special-purpose vehicles, as distinct from conventional road vehicles. As electrification and autonomous operation technologies are increasingly applied to such equipment, the importance of reliably managing the temperature of batteries, electronic components and drive systems has grown. Thermal management technology is considered a critical factor with a direct bearing on equipment efficiency, durability and safety.

Hanon Systems intends to leverage its accumulated automotive thermal management expertise to get ahead of demand in the off-road mobility market. Because the sector has yet to open up commercially, the company plans to work with research institutions from an early stage to jointly assess the technological direction and business viability.

"This collaboration is a great opportunity to extend Hanon Systems' thermal management technology beyond passenger vehicles into diverse off-road mobility sectors including agricultural machinery, construction equipment, defense, marine and space," said Kang Seong-ho, executive vice president at Hanon Systems. "We will actively explore new technology opportunities through R&D-focused cooperation, rigorously examine future business potential, and further solidify our leadership in the global market."