en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Ministry of Climate and Energy of South Korea announced that it will invest 41 billion won (approximately 27 million USD) by next year to support 17 companies in commercializing artificial intelligence (AI)-based environmental technologies, aiming to accelerate the application of AI in areas such as carbon emission reduction, water resource management, and pollution monitoring.
The Ministry of Climate and Energy, together with the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute, recently signed agreements with the selected companies. This is part of a broader cross-departmental initiative designed to bring AI-driven products and services to market within one to two years. The environmental component of the initiative focuses on five areas closely related to daily life: carbon neutrality, water resource management, resource circulation, environmental safety, and weather and climate.
The Ministry of Climate and Energy stated that it selected 17 projects from 145 applications received between March 19 and April 20, based on technical merit and commercial feasibility. Among the selected projects, one in the carbon neutrality category will utilize AI to integrate and control solar power generation, energy storage systems, and heat pumps, thereby reducing heating and cooling costs by over 20%. In the field of water resource management, another project will analyze abnormal signals in aging water pipes and distribution networks to predict and prevent disasters such as sinkholes. In environmental safety, a selected technology will combine closed-circuit television footage and sensor data to automatically detect and predict indoor air pollution and fire smoke, aiming to halve the exposure time to harmful substances.
The Ministry of Climate and Energy noted that 16 of the 17 selected companies are small and medium-sized enterprises, with nine located outside the Seoul Capital Area. This is expected to broaden participation in the AI environmental technology sector and strengthen regional innovation. The Ministry added that some companies are also seeking to export the products under development, noting that the initiative helps enhance the global competitiveness of South Korea's environmental technologies.
"The significance of this project lies in its ability to rapidly apply AI technology to the environmental field and create outcomes that the public can directly feel," said Ahn Se-chang, Director General of the Planning and Coordination Bureau at the Ministry of Climate and Energy, in a statement. He added that the government will strengthen public-private cooperation to develop new solutions for addressing the climate crisis and environmental challenges.
The initiative also aligns with broader policy directions to build AI-related infrastructure and industries. The South Korean government last week unveiled a package of investment plans for AI and semiconductors, while SK Inc and private equity firm KKR announced the launch of a 2 trillion won (approximately 1.3 billion USD) renewable energy platform, partly aimed at meeting the growing electricity demand of AI data centers and chip manufacturing. This move comes as governments and companies across Asia seek to more directly apply AI to climate and environmental challenges, covering areas such as electricity demand management, renewable energy, and monitoring of water systems and pollution risks. A recent report on climate technology by the United Nations University noted that AI is becoming an increasingly prominent area for sustainable development applications, such as energy optimization, climate risk analysis, and environmental monitoring.
