Eco-Friendly Ship Paint and Waste-Battery Recycling Technologies Developed... November Korea Engineer Award Winners Named

Samsung Heavy Industries Group Leader Hwang Hyangan and TMS Industry CEO Cho Yunho Win Awards
Eco-Friendly Paint Applied to More Than 250 Vessels... Waste-Battery Processing Capacity Doubled

Hwang Hyangan, a group leader at Samsung Heavy Industries, and Cho Yunho, CEO of TMS Industry, have been selected as the November winners of the Korea Engineer Award for developing eco-friendly paint for ships and automating a waste-battery recycling process, respectively.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Industrial Technology Association announced on November 9 that they had selected the two as the November 2026 winners of the Korea Engineer Award for their contributions to technological innovation in industrial settings.

Hwang Hyangan, group leader at Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Hwang Hyangan, a group leader at Samsung Heavy Industries' Shipbuilding and Offshore Research Institute, was recognized for developing and applying eco-friendly anti-corrosion paint that protects ships from corrosion and low-toxicity antifouling paint that prevents marine organisms from attaching to ship hulls.

Conventional anti-corrosion paint for ships contains 30% or more volatile organic compounds (VOCs), posing health hazards and fire risks. Hwang developed anti-corrosion paint that contains almost no VOCs and has been applied to ships since 2018. To date, the eco-friendly paint has been used on more than 250 vessels. She also commercialized seven types of low-toxicity antifouling paint that exclude substances such as copper pyrithione, which is harmful to human health.

Hwang said, "I will continue to do my utmost to enhance the standing of Korea's shipbuilding industry in sustainable technology by developing technologies that lead innovation in the eco-friendly and safe ship-painting paradigm."

Cho Yunho, CEO of TMS Industry, developed automation technology to reduce exposure to hazardous gases and dust, as well as fire and explosion risks, during waste-battery recycling.

The key innovation is the automation of the freezing, discharging, crushing, and separation processes using equipment that secures and transports waste batteries, along with collaborative robots. By adapting processing methods to different types of waste batteries, the technology cut work time by 25%, the workforce required by 30%, and the space needed by 60% compared with existing processes. It also doubled daily processing capacity.

Based on these technologies, TMS Industry has filed and registered more than 10 patents in waste-battery recycling processes and fire-prevention automation.

Cho said, "We will continue to advance process automation technologies that improve safety and productivity, strengthen the competitiveness of Korea's resource-circulation industry, and work to enter global markets."

The Korea Engineer Award was established in 2002 to recognize engineers who contribute to technological innovation in industrial settings. Recipients receive a Minister of Science and ICT Award and prize money of 5 million won.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.