Yeongcheon City (Mayor Kim Young-seok) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on May 16 at Yeongcheon City Hall with Element Six Co., Ltd. and the Gyeongbuk Hybrid Technology Institute to secure core technologies and promote commercialization through joint participation in the Gyeongbuk Carbon Cluster initiative.

Element Six Co., Ltd. is a newly established corporation formed following the acquisition of Carbon Village, originally founded in 2007, by PyungHwa Holdings. Building upon accumulated expertise and proprietary technologies, the company was launched under a phased investment plan. In the short term, it focuses on producing CFRP-molded automotive components, tuning parts, and leisure products. Over the mid- to long term, it aims to develop thermoplastic CFRP and take a leading position in the commercialization of CFRP materials for future industries.

The Gyeongbuk Hybrid Technology Institute, which also signed the MOU, has been conducting prototype development and testing to apply CFRP—widely recognized for its use in aircraft structures and automotive bodies—to exterior automotive parts such as hoods and fenders. The institute has established extensive know-how in CFRP manufacturing technologies and a robust reliability testing and evaluation infrastructure.

Through this agreement, Yeongcheon City, Element Six Co., Ltd., and the institute will collaborate on joint participation in the Gyeongbuk Carbon Cluster production base. Areas of cooperation include technology and information exchange for parts commercialization, planning of commercialization-oriented R&D projects, advancement of carbon material initiatives such as drone propellers and aircraft components, and export expansion through mass production.

Mayor Kim Young-seok stated, “We have now entered the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In preparation for this new era, Yeongcheon will foster the carbon composite materials industry—recognized as a high value-added material applicable to aviation, automotive, and leisure industries—to build a foundation for future growth.”

He added that through this MOU, collaboration among the public sector, industry, and research institutions will accelerate the development of advanced materials and position Yeongcheon as a leading municipality in the carbon industry.