At the end of 2022, the Government of Hungary signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance to launch the Economic Innovation Partnership Program (EIPP) which was developed by the Korean side. The agreement which takes place between 2022 and 2025 in the fields of electromobility, logistics and the battery industry, in addition to economic development, research, higher education and vocational training and involves several ministries (Ministry for National Economy, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Culture and Innovation) and other key institutions (Neumann Nonprofit Public Benefit Ltd, Hungarian Battery Association, HUMDA, Hungarian Public Roads, KTI Institute for Transport Sciences Non-profit Ltd, Innovative Training Development Center, Budapest University of Technology and Economics). The Association considers it of utmost importance to establish a long-term strategic cooperation between the experts of both countries, as this will contribute to the competitiveness of Hungarian companies in the development of e-mobility and carbon-neutral transport.
The Hungarian Battery Association is collaborating with the Ministry for National Economy and the Korea Development Institute to establish a Korean-Hungarian Battery Cooperation Center, which aims to build a long-term, sustainable strategic partnership between professionals from both countries. The cooperation will be implemented under the Economic Innovation Partnership Program, which was launched in April 2022 to facilitate the long-term exploration of the economic and innovation potential of electric mobility and carbon-neutral transportation. This will include strengthening industrial cooperation between the battery companies of the two countries and expanding collaboration through joint research results. In addition, special attention will be given to addressing the challenges faced by Hungarian companies in order to improve their business environment, such as the local implementation of performance assessment for used batteries.
“International cooperation and innovation are essential for a sustainable future. A good example of this is the establishment of a competence center focusing on the development of battery technologies with South Korean researchers under the Economic Innovation Partnership Program. The establishment of a Korean-Hungarian Battery Industry Center can give a significant boost to the development of the sector in Hungary, promoting technological development, the widespread application of environmental protection and the exploitation of business opportunities,” said Péter Kaderják, CEO of the Hungarian Battery Association.
The Economic Innovation Partnership Program is a cooperation between Hungary and South Korea focusing on the development of a full life cycle management system for electric vehicle batteries. In the first phase of the program, the conceptual framework of this life-cycle management system will be developed, while in the second phase proposals will be made to improve traceability. In the next phase of the program, plans for the establishment of a Korean-Hungarian Battery Industry Center will be developed. The initial steps to establish the research center will include developing a pilot operation plan, designing a battery laboratory, and researching the performance evaluation of used batteries with a special focus on environmentally friendly technologies.
As part of the cooperation, a delegation from the Korean side of the program arrived in Hungary on January 21, 2025 to spend a week discussing the opportunities for both countries in the field of electric vehicles and battery technologies. During the visit, the representatives of the delegation emphasized that they would like to develop beneficial arrangements for Hungarian and Korean companies. In order to facilitate this, in addition to the discussions, both the Korean and Hungarian teams visited the ZalaZone Proving Ground in Zalaegerszeg to learn about the opportunities offered by the automotive proving ground and testing capabilities already available in Hungary, as well as future plans. The automotive proving ground is a large integrated research and development facility that not only offers the possibility to perform traditional vehicle dynamics tests, but also allows validation tests of autonomous and electric vehicles.