Korea sets 2030 target of 1,000 climate tech firms with 600 billion won fund

South Korea's SMEs ministry said Thursday it will work with the climate and environment ministry to nurture 1,000 climate tech companies and 30 potential unicorns by 2030, backed by a climate tech fund worth about 600 billion won ($449 million).

The plan is a follow-up to the Korea-Green Transformation strategy unveiled on Oct. 7. It sets out support across the whole growth path of climate tech firms, from technology development and field testing to investment, financing, market creation and the legal framework.

The government will run a climate tech strategic project that links innovators with suppliers and buyers, and an R&D programme for high-risk, high-reward projects. It plans to expand the K-Testbed programme, which draws on infrastructure held by large companies and public institutions, is considering a new climate tech TIPS town, and will develop regional clusters covering green convergence, energy-specialised cities and hydrogen as hubs for climate tech firms.

Financing will be tailored to growth stages through the climate tech fund, which pools the Future Environmental Industry Investment Fund, green loans and the Climate Tech Innovation Fund. A separate package of up to 10 billion won ($7.48 million) over as long as five years will combine commercialisation, export, R&D and loan support.

Because climate technology carries high regulatory risk as a new field, the government will create regulatory exceptions for climate tech and expand regulatory free zones. It will also pursue a separate Climate Tech Industry Promotion Act, and use public procurement to help companies win domestic orders while widening support for overseas expansion.

Sector-specific measures target clean tech, carbon tech, eco tech, food tech and geo tech. Clean tech firms will get access to public testing infrastructure such as that of Korea Electric Power Corp. and looser entry barriers, while carbon tech will see R&D supply-chain participation and a certification system for carbon capture products. Eco tech will receive large-scale circular economy R&D, food tech will focus on technologies such as eco-friendly packaging and regional research centres, and geo tech will draw on data-driven R&D and public infrastructure such as the Korea Water Resources Corp.

"Climate tech is a future growth industry that can create new markets, investment, jobs and exports beyond responding to carbon neutrality, yet its growth ecosystem is still not sufficient," SMEs minister Lee Young said. "We will build a growth ladder so that promising climate tech companies can settle in the market and grow into global unicorn companies."

Climate and Environment Minister Kim Sung-hwan said innovative companies are central to making the green transition a real change in industry and markets, and that the government will support their growth from Korea to the world market.