DGIST student startups received the Grand Prize and Excellence Award in the “LAB Start-up 2023” battle

□ DGIST (President Kuk Yang) announced on March 7, 2023, that student startups, CURE and TIA, received the Grand Prize and Excellence Award, respectively, in the “LAB Start-up 2023” which is sponsored by the Ministry of Science and ICT and supervised by Commercialization Promotion Agency for R&D Outcome (COMPA) and Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation.

□ This event, which was held under the theme of “Scientific Technology, the Advocate of Entrepreneurship,” involved IR and exhibitions of 146 teams that have been challenged to start a business through the laboratory startup support project of the Ministry of Science and ICT over the past year. A total of 10 teams that advanced to the final through a fierce competition were evaluated by the panel of judges consisting of five professional investors.

□ The student startup team CURE, who has won the Grand Prize in this contest, has developed a carbon utilization solution using a high-efficiency, low-cost carbon dioxide capturing device. The carbon capture technology, which was developed to separate carbon oxide in the atmosphere to be used for various purposes, has been in the spotlight recently as a solution for the climate crisis. CURE has solved the problem of existing carbon oxide related technology and aims to capture 190 tons of carbon dioxide daily. This team has won the highest possible award from the Director of COMPA in a competition with numerous laboratory startups, and thus is expected to demonstrate more outstanding performances in the future.

□ In addition, the student startup team TIA, who has won the Excellence Award, created the technology for removing particulate matter in exhaust gas discharged from factories without replacing a filter. The cylindrical titanium oxide manufacturing technology of TIA enables permanent use, without producing by-products, by heightening air permeability through a catalyst structure that is open on both sides. TIA has received three Minister’s awards including the Minister of Science and ICT Award in 2022 and is gaining growing recognition as a next-generation eco-friendly company.

□ Jihyun Kim, the CEO of CURE, said that “carbon capture is a necessary technology to fight climate change, but the respective market is still small in Korea. We will continue our efforts in leading such markets so that more people will become aware of carbon capture technology and make the world a better place to live.”

□ DGIST President Kuk Yang claimed that “the organization will continue providing necessary support to vitalize the laboratory startup culture within DGIST.”