10 Best New Technologies

Government picks top new technologies developed in Korea in 2008, led by Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced recently the list of Korea's top 10 new technologies and technology companies including Samsung Electronics and its 50-nanometer 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM chips.
The top 10 companies included Samsung Electronics, winning the Grand Prize; Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical, Kolon Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries sharing the Gold Prize; followed by Seoul Semiconductor, S&S Tech, Hyundai Motor Co., Dongjin Semichem, SFA Engineering and Infinitt Co.
Samsung's 50-nanometer 1 Gb DDR2 SDRAM product, which received the Grand Prize from the ministry, can reduce power usage by 50 percent and production costs by 15 percent compared to existing chips, the world's top maker of memory chips said.
Samsung has kept the No. 1 position in the memory semiconductor market since 1993. In the world market, Samsung Electronics has created next-generation products in the DRAM sector with its advanced technology.
The 50-nanometer 1 Gb DDR2 SDRAM is environmentally-friendly and has low power consumption. In fact, its power consumption is a mere half that of existing products and is highly applicable for products that require low power consumption such as servers and mobile phones. It is also ideal for applications that require high-end graphics.
The 50-nanometer 1Gb DDR2 SDRAM is a realization of simplified metal processes and chip minimization. Samsung is expected to have a 15 percent boost in price competitiveness with this new technology.
The company exported $555 million worth of the chips in 2008 and expects sales to rise to $4.2 billion this year with its market share climbing to 30.4 percent in 2009 from 28 percent in 2008.
Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co. earned its award for its new manufacturing process for Atorvastatin, a medication that lowers the level of cholesterol in the blood. The market for Atorvastatin was worth 85 billion won in Korea and $13.7 billion overseas in 2007 and has posted an average annual growth rate of 20 percent, the company said.
The company has succeeded in developing its own technology to produce high-quality products through a simple manufacturing process. The company is expected to save several tens of billions of won in import substitution effects over the coming years, acquiring royalties from foreign companies and contributing to bolstering national competitiveness, the company said.
Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co., the only producer of Atorvastatin in Korea with its own technology, aims to post more than 10 billion won in revenue from sales of Lipilo, a drug made by the company based on its Atorvastatin technology, over the next three years. It is also considering exporting its technology to foreign drug makers.
Kolon Industries Inc. won a Gold Prize from the ministry for its PVDF coated reinforced hollow fiber and submerged module for large-scale water treatment called Cleanfil-S.
The company developed Cleanfil-S to be more competitive than foreign products in strength and hydrophilic properties. The product can completely remove solid matter from water including pathogenic microbes. It is widely recognized as a competitive product carrying the best technology for supplying safe water, the company said.
Kolon exported 2.5 billion won worth of the product in 2008 and expects the sales figures to increase to 7.5 billion won in 2009 with its market share soaring to 30 percent in 2009.
Samsung Heavy Industries won a Gold Prize for the development of its next generation North Sea drill ship. The drill ship can conduct operations in an extreme ocean environment where waves reach 16 meters in height, wind speeds hit 41 meters per second and temperatures dip to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The company has been able to control 70 percent of the world market for drill ships and 100 percent of the market for drill ships operating in the North Sea.
The next generation North Sea drill ship, which was selected as the best technology product among Samsung Group-produced goods in 2007, is a high value-added product whose price approaches $1 billion, the highest in the domestic shipbuilding industry for a single product. The shipbuilding company is making a great contribution to increasing the nation's exports, creating employment and activating the national economy, the company said.
Seoul Semiconductor Co. won a Silver Prize from the ministry for its alternating current semiconductor light source, Acriche. Acriche is the world's first semiconductor lighting source using AC current without a converter. Acriche is environmentally friendly; however, incandescent electric lamps and fluorescent lamps contain harmful material like mercury and lead.
The company sold 5 billion won worth of products in 2008 and expects sales to soar to 20 billion won with the market share soaring from 2.26 percent to 8 percent during the corresponding period.
S&S Tech won a Silver Prize for the world's first TM blankmask technology for the TFT-LCD/TM and blankmask for the TFT-LCD. The company developed TM blankmask technology using new materials and a new structure.
The product is an indispensable material for photomasking, which is essential for the manufacturing of semiconductors, TFT-LCDs, color filters and other things. Photomasking is a process of forming a pattern with a-beams or optical equipment on a blankmask. Each pattern can be divided into transparent and opaque areas to allow selective transmission of incidental light.
Hyundai Motor Co. clinched a Silver Prize for Avante LPI HEV development. The Avante LPI HEV is the world's first LPI hybrid vehicle equipped with environmentally-friendly functions and practicality. The Avante is the world's first hybrid vehicle to be powered by liquid petroleum and the first to adopt advanced lithium polymer batteries with its own hybrid technology.
The automaker plans to roll out a gasoline-electric hybrid version of its sedans in 2010 and will launch larger hybrid vehicles soon after that. The new vehicle will be powered by an LPI gamma engine displacing 1.6 liters, a 15 kw electric motor and a continuously-variable transmission. The Avante LPI hybrid-electric vehicle is a mild-type hybrid capable of delivering a competitive fuel economy rating.
Dongjin Semichem captured a Silver Prize for EMI shielding mesh on glasses for PDP filters using the Gravur-offset printing method advanced mesh. As the product does not generate waste fluid in the course of processing, it is regarded as environmentally-friendly, the company said.
Dongjin could become more competitive in the domestic PDP filter industry and is likely to greatly contribute to promoting the overall industrial competitive power of the domestic PDP industry, the company said. The company is a maker of semiconductors and electronics materials for flat panel displays and forming agents.
Sales of the product reached 2.5 billion won in 2008 and are expected to steadily hit 17 billion won in 2009, 25 billion won in 2010 and 40 billion won in 2011.
SFA Engineering Corp. won a Silver Prize for GS LCD glass scribing M/C.
GS LCD glass scribing M/C is the facility to cut eighth-generation LCD panels in a fixed size. Its core technology is a scriber head equipped with scriber wheel cutting panels.
The company has 10 patents registered with relevant government agencies and 17 IPs at home and abroad. Among major achievements of the company are the development and commercialization of the eighth-generation glass scribing technology for LCDs; scribing with the VCM heads; the application of breaking systems by using hot air thermal shocks; the application of glass rotation functions to improve quality and productivity; and the application of a side-roller and guide bar to prevent wheel collision. The company's product sales amounted to 20.7 billion won in 2008 and are likely to reach 20 billion won this year.
Infinitt Co. won a Silver Prize for its third-generation medical imaging and information solution Infinitt Pacs. It is Korea's sole Web-based 2D/3D medical image information digital disposal solution, and provides medical teams with a ubiquitous environment under which doctors can diagnose patients anytime and anywhere. Infinitt, founded in 1997, is a leading company that specializes in medical imaging and information. The company's sales of the product increased from 33 billion won in 2007 to 37 billion won in 2008 and are expected to rise to 42 billion won in 2009. nw