Pusan National University and Pukyong National University will be offering specialized graduate programs in hydrothermal energy and battery recycling, following being selected for the Ministry of Environment's funding project.

A consortium led by Pukyong National University was selected for the Education Ministry's program to train master's and doctorate-level students in battery recycling, according to Busan, where the university is located in, on Tuesday. The consortium also includes Pusan National University.


The program is organized by the Environment Ministry, offering funding to universities operating graduate programs with a study focus on carbon neutrality. Funding amounts differ, with funding given for five years.

Pukyong National University will receive funding of 450 million won ($306,000) annually for five years to operate the program.

The university, in collaboration with Pusan National University, will establish an interdisciplinary graduate program focused on used battery recycling. The program aims to train approximately 50 professionals at the master's and doctoral levels in the next five years.

To smoothly operate the program, the university also signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Environment Corporation.

The Korea Environment Corporation is set to finish construction of its EV battery recycling cluster in June, and will allow Pukyong National University to use the facility for its graduate program.

“The rapidly emerging field of battery recycling is a future growth engine for the industry, and we will actively foster talent with industry knowledge through specialized education and help them establish themselves in the field,” said Lim Sang-joon, head of the Korea Environment Corporation.

Another consortium, led by Pusan National University and with Korea Maritime & Ocean University participating, was selected for the funding project to develop professionals in hydrothermal energy.

Through the project, Pusan National University will receive funding of 380 million won annually for up to five years.

The university is set to sign a memorandum of understanding also with the Korea Environment Corporation in early April to operate the hydrothermal program.

With many universities in Busan being selected for the government project, the city will be offering further support to create programs that foster talent in carbon neutral technologies.

“Having programs foster talent in carbon neutral technologies is the starting point for Busan to become a city leading such initiative, and it is great news that universities in our region were selected to offer programs in hydrothermal energy and battery recycling,” said Park Heong-joon, mayor of Busan. “We hope this serves as an opportunity for us to take the lead in the eco-friendly energy industry in not only Busan, but also in (all of) Korea.”

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]