The Korea Institute of Materials Science, a government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT reached a deal with Hankook Technology, DSME Construction, and Purunbit to build a plasma technology-based quarantine and air conditioning system that can effectively respond to COVID-19.

The 4 parties participated in the business agreement ceremony at the DSME Construction headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul on March 2nd and agreed to strengthen cooperation for the joint project.

KIMS succeeded in developing a plasma air conditioning filter technology that inactivates the coronavirus aerosol with active oxygen species and an electric field using dielectric filter discharge technology. By integrating plasma air conditioning filters and ozone removal catalyst material, they overcame the limitations of plasma technology that have not been applied to the air conditioning industry. In addition, KIMS has commercialized the technology that maximizes antibacterial and antiviral properties of a product by coating polymer filter materials which are used for various products with a copper nano-thin film using roll-to-roll ion beam technology. The project was supported by the Public Pathogen Removal Material Development Project.

Through this MOU, △KIMS will support the commercialization of the materials and parts using plasma technology for quarantine and air conditioning as well as the demonstration and product certification networks; △Purunbit will commercialize the plasma technology-based quarantine and air conditioning product through the technology transfer of KIMS; △Hankook Technology will support the development of plasma air conditioning and quarantine system, and △DSME Construction will introduce the product to the construction industry.

Jung-hwan Lee, the President of KIMS, said, “This joint project for a plasma technology-based quarantine and air conditioning system aims to contribute to a national quarantine infrastructure to effectively respond to another pandemic to come. In order to respond to a national crisis quickly and ensure the safety of the citizens, we will put our utmost effort in research and cooperation.”