Factory's Post 🇪🇺 #14

Factory's Post is back to deliver the insights you need for your business growth.💡 We've gathered the latest business trends, useful information for market entry, and hot news from the Korea-Europe ecosystem!

 ☘️ 123 Factory Becomes Korea's First Official Partner of Climate Launchpad!

123 Factory has been selected as the first Korean organisation to join Climate Launchpad (CLP) as an official national partner — bringing Europe's largest climate innovation programme to the Korean startup ecosystem for the first time.

🚀The World's Biggest Climate Competition — What Is CLP?

Since its launch in 2014, CLP has supported over 5,500 startups and helped them collectively raise more than €500 million in follow-on funding. It's not a pitching contest — it's a structured growth platform with real access to global investors and a track record to match.

🧭 Six Stages from Idea to Global Stage

CLP targets early-stage teams at the idea stage or up to two years post-founding. The programme runs across six structured phases:

Application → Bootcamp → Coaching → National Final → Regional Final → Global Grand Final

Top teams from each country advance through the Asia-Pacific regional round before competing on the world stage. The 2026 Global Grand Final will be held in-person in Singapore, with travel and accommodation costs covered for selected teams.

♻️ Why Climate Startups, Why Now

The investment signals are hard to ignore. In 2025, 42% of airline corporate venture activity was directed at sustainability and cleantech — still the single largest investment theme. Decarbonisation is no longer a strategic option; it's an operational necessity. SAF shortages, tightening regulation, and the limits of incremental efficiency gains are pushing corporates to partner with startups earlier than ever.

For founders with a sharp problem definition and a scalable model, global opportunity is very much open — even at the earliest stages.

🌱 Taking Korean Climate Innovation Global

Through its CLP partnership, 123 Factory will support Korean founders working across climate, energy, circular economy, and mobility to connect directly with European and global networks. Beyond programme participation, the focus will be on strategic mentoring and warm introductions that help Korean startups design credible international scale-up paths.

The sustainability transition is not a temporary cycle. It is the beginning of a long-term industrial shift — and Climate Launchpad is one of the best entry points into it.

Stay Tuned! 🎶 

Investment

⚡ Renewable Energy Becomes the Hottest Bet in AI Infrastructure Investment

As AI-driven demand for data centre power surges, both domestic and international fund managers are taking a hard look at renewable energy — a sector once dismissed as too slow and policy-dependent for venture returns. The IEA projects global data centre electricity consumption will double by 2030, reaching approximately 945 TWh — around 3% of total worldwide power demand. Soaring oil prices driven by ongoing Middle East conflict are accelerating the shift, making clean, distributed energy infrastructure an increasingly compelling alternative to fragile grid-based systems.

In Korea, large-scale renewable deals are already moving. The government-backed National Growth Fund recently approved financing for a 390MW offshore wind farm off Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, with total project costs reaching approximately KRW 3.4 trillion. At the local level, South Chungcheong's Taean County has signed a KRW 1 trillion offshore wind investment agreement with Vena Energy — Asia-Pacific's largest private renewable developer — alongside Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, targeting a 500MW wind complex within five years.

For startups, the opportunity is sharpening. LP appetite for renewable infrastructure is quietly reshaping how VCs and accelerators think about the space — shifting it from a difficult, low-ROI category into an active deal pipeline. The focus is increasingly on startups that help renewable facilities and equipment maximise productivity and efficiency, precisely the kind of deep-tech climate ventures that programmes like Climate Launchpad are designed to surface and scale.

Market

🤖 Battery Giants Pivot to Robots at InterBattery 2026

InterBattery 2026, held at COEX in Seoul from March 11–13, opened at its largest scale ever — with 667 companies, 2,382 exhibition booths, and an expected 80,000 visitors. The show's defining story wasn't electric vehicles. As one industry insider put it on the floor: "The spaces that used to be filled with supercars are now taken over by robots." With EV demand hitting a plateau and physical AI gaining momentum, robot batteries have emerged as the sector's next big growth frontier.

Korea's three battery majors all made moves. LG Energy Solution debuted its first all-solid-state battery for robotics — targeting service, humanoid, and industrial robots. Samsung SDI unveiled its first pouch-type all-solid-state battery sample developed specifically for physical AI applications, signalling a clear direction on safety and high-output performance. SK On, meanwhile, showcased a Hyundai Wia logistics robot (AMR) powered by its high-nickel battery — already deployed in real industrial settings at Hyundai's Metaplant America in Georgia.

The strategic logic is straightforward: robots demand the exact qualities — high energy density, lightweight design, and superior safety — that next-generation solid-state batteries are built to deliver. Korean battery makers are betting on robotics as the proving ground to mature the technology before scaling it into broader markets. With solid-state expertise already in hand, industry observers expect K-Battery's push into physical AI to move fast.

Meet New Startups!

We'd like to take a moment to introduce you to some of the companies you should watch in the Korea–Europe deep tech ecosystem. Today, we introduce you to Beyless, a Korean mobility software company building the embedded intelligence that powers next-generation autonomous systems—from vehicles to drones and robots.

🚗 Embedded Intelligence for the Physical AI Era

Beyless specializes in embedded software optimized for edge devices, enabling real-time sensing, decision-making, and control in autonomous environments. The company first built its expertise through in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) software supplied to global Tier-1 automotive suppliers, and has since expanded into AUTOSAR Adaptive–based autonomous driving platforms and software-defined vehicle (SDV) architectures. 

Building on its automotive software stack, Beyless is extending its technology to drones, robotics, and broader physical AI systems, where efficient on-device computation is critical. The company envisions a multi-modal autonomous mobility ecosystem where vehicles, drones, and ground robots share a common embedded technology core while operating in different environments.

Beyless is currently seeking partners for Horizon Europe projects. If your organization is interested in collaboration or consortium participation, feel free to reach out anytime—we would be happy to arrange an introduction or an intro call.

Upcoming Events

• SECON 2026
  18-20 Mar | Ilsan, Korea | Security
  Asia’s largest integrated security exhibition, bringing together physical security, cybersecurity, and smart safety solutions with conferences and industry networking.

• KIMES
  19-22 Mar | Seoul, Korea | Medical
  Korea’s largest medical & hospital equipment show, showcasing medical devices, hospital infrastructure, imaging/diagnostics, and digital health innovations for global buyers and partners.

• ICPI Week 2026
  31 Mar - 3 Apr | Ilsan, Korea | Bio, Chemical, Pharma
  A multi-exhibition B2B platform at KINTEX covering lab/analysis, chemicals, pharma-bio manufacturing, and related industrial equipment, designed for sourcing and cross-industry matchmaking.

• NexusForum EU-South Korea Digital Convergence Week 2026
  13 - 16 Apr | Incheon and Yeosu, Korea | Digital
  EU–South Korea convergence event to strengthen collaboration in Cloud-Edge-IoT, AI, and digital infrastructure and explore joint research and innovation opportunities.

Thank you for reading Factory’s Post!
We’re always open to exciting news, promotions, and proposals to share with the 123 community. Feel free to contact [email protected], we’d love to hear from you! 😀