On 22 September, IMDEA Energy welcomed a delegation of 16 members from Korean entities, including the electricity generation and distribution companies KOMIPO and KEPCO KDN, the environmental, energy and safety management company 4Dream, the telecommunications business association “Telecommunications Technology Association, TTA”, the governmental body of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea “Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, KICOX”, which manages industrial complexes and investments, and the research, testing and certification centre “Korea Testing & Research Institute, KTR”.

The purpose of the visit was to explore opportunities for collaboration in:

  • Development and operation programmes of energy self-sufficient industrial complexes jointly promoted by these Korean entities.

  • Increasing the share of renewable energy generation planned by Korea.

  • Enhancing the competitiveness of ageing industrial complexes.

  • Making use of industrial waste and by-products, particularly spent batteries.

Concrete opportunities for scientific and technical cooperation were discussed with the visitors, who valued IMDEA Energy’s technological developments that may be applied in their projects and industrial facilities, such as:

  • Technological advances in the grid integration of renewable sources and in energy efficiency.

  • Developments in battery reuse and recycling of spent batteries, as well as in the recovery of metals from wastewater.

  • The use of heat generated by solar concentration in industrial processes.

  • Life cycle assessment studies, process feasibility analyses and prospective studies.

The delegation also visited the Smart Energy Integration Lab (SEIL), whose electrical facilities allow for the testing of alternatives to improve industrial energy management, the solar field, and the construction works of the new hydrogen, storage and solar generation facilities. During the visit, members of the delegation were able to see first-hand how IMDEA Energy collaborates with Korean entities, as they coincided with other Korean participants attending the meeting of the international Hydragon project, in which the Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University and the company Samwhan Co. Ltd. are involved.