ACE Inventor won the grand prize in the new-entrant track of SWITCH, the Jeonbuk climate tech demo day, on 26 November 2024. Run by Sopoong Ventures with Jeonbuk State and Jeonbuk Technopark, the programme identified more than twenty climate technology companies across two demo days.

The winning entry was the company's coloured, transparent and flexible module. Its case began with the limits of silicon-based BIPV — narrow application owing to low efficiency, high installation cost and opaque, rigid cells, compounded by durability problems from discolouration and delamination — and offered an alternative.

"Our goal is to build energy-independent buildings and an agricultural ecosystem that produces energy," Joung said. "Through continuous ideas and technical innovation we intend to set a new standard for solar cells and become a leading provider of next-generation solar solutions in global markets."

The two directions he named have since become two product families: BIPV modules and agrivoltaic modules.

ACE Inventor Inc., founded in November 2022, develops ultra-lightweight building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules. Its core technologies are a water-based hydrogel electrolyte membrane, electrophoretic large-area flexible electrode coating, and ultra-lightweight curved module design using FRP and ETFE composites. The company operates a 50 MW annual production line in Paltan-myeon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, and holds KS C 8577 BIPV module certification together with ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. Its patent portfolio includes seven registered Korean patents and one registered US patent, with 23 applications filed in Korea and abroad. Contact info@aceivt.com · www.aceivt.com

Related coverage and sources

· Economic Review — SWITCH grand prize, 27 Nov 2024

· Wowtale — SWITCH grand prize, 27 Nov 2024

· ETNews — Jeonbuk SWITCH programme results, 2 Dec 2024

· Platum — Jeonbuk climate tech SWITCH programme results