In response to worsening climate challenges—such as this summer's relentless heatwaves and tropical nights—an awards ceremony was held in Busan to honor innovative tech solutions aimed at tackling climate change and revitalizing the weather industry.

On August 6, the Busan Regional Office of Meteorology, the Busan Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (Busan CCEI), and the PNU Industry-University Cooperation Foundation jointly hosted the awards ceremony for the 7th Weather & Climate Tech Startup Idea Contest at Hotel Nongshim in Busan. The event was supported by key regional partners, including The Kookje Daily News, the Korea Meteorological Institute (KIMI), the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), the Korea Agriculture Technology Promotion Agency (KOAT), and the Busan Intellectual Property Center.

Focused on discovering groundbreaking weather and climate technologies, this year’s competition was split into two categories: Early-Stage Startups and Aspiring Entrepreneurs. Out of 29 applicant teams, six finalists were selected following two rounds of expert evaluations and public verification.

In the Early-Stage Startup division, MarinaChain took home the Top Excellence Award (KMA Administrator's Award, along with a 3 million KRW cash prize). The startup was recognized for leveraging AI to drive digital transformation (DX) across the maritime and logistics industries while delivering comprehensive global carbon compliance solutions.

The Excellence Awards in the startup category, each accompanied by a 2 million KRW prize, were presented to Kkotfarm (KOAT President's Award) for developing a systematic flower distribution platform based on seasonal climate data and demand analytics, and BMarine (KIOST President's Award) for engineering ocean observation equipment using microplastic-reducing buoys.

Source : https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=2100&key=20240808.22017001688