Electric farm machinery and charging systems to be tested in partnership with Gwangju, North Jeolla Province; eco-friendly farm equipment industry to be developed around Naepо agricultural cluster
South Chungcheong Province has laid the groundwork to lead the smart-farming sector by strengthening its eco-friendly agricultural machinery industry.
The provincial government announced Thursday it had been selected through a competition run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and officially designated as a regulation-free zone for demonstrating electric farm machinery and charging systems under the smart-farming wide-area linked regulation-free zone program.
Regulation-free zones support the demonstration of new technologies and services by easing regulations or granting special exemptions in emerging technology and industry sectors.
This year, a new "wide-area linked" model was introduced in which multiple local governments jointly demonstrate regulations related to industrial supply chain value chains. Two sectors were selected: smart farming and new marine leisure.
Participating alongside South Jeolla Province, Gwangju and North Jeolla Province in the smart-farming category, South Chungcheong Province will verify the safety and performance of electric farm machinery and charging systems across 2.927 square kilometers in the Asan, Hongseong and Yesan areas.
The project will run for four years from 2027 to 2030, with a total budget of 8.9 billion won ($6.49 million), covering demonstration research and development as well as commercialization support.
The two main demonstration areas are safety verification of charging facilities for electric farm machinery, and safety verification of electric farm machinery charging systems and their operation.
Under the zone's regulatory exemptions, the project will demonstrate a charging facility for electric farm machinery powered by solar direct current, as well as a charging system that uses electric vehicle charging infrastructure for electric farm machinery, while verifying safety and performance during both charging and field operations.
Three companies will participate as zone operators in the demonstration research and development, which Chungnam National University will lead. After the demonstration phase is complete, Chungnam Technopark will take sole charge of commercialization support.
The province plans to link the zone project with its eco-friendly farm machinery digital electrification demonstration project within the Naepо agricultural bio-cluster, building an industrial foundation that connects electric and eco-friendly farm machinery from technology development through demonstration, safety verification and commercialization.
"Through this selection in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups competition, we have established a foundation for verifying the safety and performance of electric farm machinery and charging systems," a provincial official said. "We will actively work to strengthen the eco-friendly farm machinery industry centered on the Naepо agricultural bio-cluster, and ensure that demonstration results lead to commercialization and enhanced industrial competitiveness for businesses."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
