[Edaily Marketin JI YEONG-EUI Reporter] A growth strategy has been proposed to foster domestic energy companies by leveraging the technology and infrastructure held by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and to connect them with global investors to expand into overseas markets. The plan is to utilize KEPCO’s approximately 11,000 patents and demonstration facilities, while attracting private investment, to create “unicorn” companies within the domestic energy sector.

Lee Jong-min, CEO of KEPCO Technology Holdings, made these remarks during a discussion with Douglas Kang, an investment partner at Seraya Partners, at the “Global Alternative Investment Conference in BIXPO (GAIC IN BIXPO 2026)” held on the 5th at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju. The two discussed the growth potential of the energy industry, the commercialization of domestic technology companies, and strategies for attracting global investment. Launched on August 7, KEPCO Technology Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KEPCO, established with the goal of fostering domestic energy unicorn companies.

Partner Kang first highlighted the growth potential of the power infrastructure market driven by the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) and asked about opportunities for domestic energy technology companies as well as obstacles in the commercialization process.

CEO Lee stated, “In the development of an industry and the innovation of technological value, those who resolve the shortages—or bottlenecks—of their era reap the lion’s share of the value.” He added, “While data capacity and performance were crucial in the telecommunications era, now that AI data centers are becoming widespread, the biggest bottleneck to industrial development is energy.”

He continued, “It is difficult to meet current energy demand with existing methods of large-scale energy production and long-distance transmission,” and predicted, “Technologies such as distributed energy sources and microgrids—which allow regions to secure their own power—will gain traction.”

Discussions on specific investment strategies also took place. Partner Kang asked, “At what stage of growth does KEPCO Technology Holdings plan to invest in companies? What is the investment scale per company, and what are the annual investment targets?” He also inquired about strategies for utilizing both direct investments and fund investments.

CEO Lee emphasized, “There are limits to corporate growth through financial support alone,” adding, “For energy companies in particular, experience in demonstration—validating technology in real-world settings—and commercialization is crucial.” KEPCO Technology Holdings is planning investments totaling 100 billion won. The company intends to expand its investment capacity by attracting additional external funding and diversifying its investment portfolio.

Partner Kang also focused on the process of converting technology validation into actual revenue. He noted, “For technology companies, technology validation and securing the first paid contract are crucial,” and asked how KEPCO’s demonstration facilities and research teams could be utilized to translate technology validation results into actual purchase contracts.

CEO Lee explained, “Under this structure, KEPCO Technology Holdings identifies and invests in promising companies, while KEPCO is responsible for nurturing them.” He added, “KEPCO experts support technology commercialization and demonstration at the demonstration complexes in Naju and Gochang, and as the companies grow, KEPCO Technology Holdings brings in additional capital to facilitate their expansion.”

The company also plans to actively utilize the approximately 11,000 patents held by KEPCO in its investment efforts. CEO Lee remarked, “In a sense, the promising technologies currently held by KEPCO are like technologies sitting in a drawer,” adding, “Rather than simply transferring them, we aim to create value by matching refined patents with suitable companies.” To this end, the company is also pursuing AI-driven patent analysis and business matching initiatives.

He also introduced an “energy full-stack” strategy that combines the technologies of domestic energy companies. CEO Lee said, “Companies in sectors ranging from power semiconductors to transmission, distribution, substation, storage, and operations and management are highly fragmented,” adding, “We intend to vertically integrate these sectors to pursue commercialization at the level of packaged solutions, similar to NVIDIA, and thereby increase corporate value.”

Partner Kang also asked how companies that have secured their first revenue can obtain the funding and partners necessary for mass production and business expansion. In response, CEO Lee stated, “We intend to establish a comprehensive pipeline that takes into account everything from the initial discovery of startups to the investment recovery stage, such as IPOs or mergers and acquisitions (M&A).” He added that they are reviewing plans to attract funding from global power companies and are currently coordinating specific implementation plans on a phased basis.

The possibility of collaboration with global investment firms was also raised. Concluding the discussion, Partner Kang stated, “Seraya Partners will also actively explore investment and overseas expansion opportunities for companies that have grown through this kind of support.”