[The Hwankyung Ilbo] "Let the public and the private partenership be united and maintain pace with the speed toward carbon neutrality. We will work together with various ministries to help excellent technology get through it." Environment Minister Han Jung-ae attended the "Green New Deal Promising Company Selection Ceremony" held at COEX in Seoul on the morning of July 9 and emphasized this.

The ceremony was organized with the aim of awarding a selection letter and copper plates to a total of 31 companies selected as "2021 Green New Deal promising companies" and listening to the industry's voices. About 30 people, including Environment Minister Han Jung-ae and Minister of SMEs and Startups Kwon Chil-seung, lawmaker Lim Jong-sung (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province), Kim Jong-nam, head of the Korea Energy Research Institute, and officials from selected companies.

Only eight of the selected companies participated in the event, and the remaining 23 companies watched the video. 

"In the process of accelerating the green transition with carbon neutrality, promising companies will have a lot to do," Han said in the introduction. "We will support companies with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to get through it well with excellent technology."

Kwon Chil-seung, Minister of SMEs and Startups, said, "If the EU has played a leading role in climate change, our response needs to be faster and bolder recently as the U.S. and China have fully joined. It is time for real effects on economic stimulus such as bold investment in eco-friendly infrastructure and job creation."

The 31 promising companies are 16 from the Ministry of Environment and 15 from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. In addition to selecting a total of 41 promising Green New Deal companies in September last year, the company was newly added. There are various fields such as water quality monitoring, waste regeneration, fire monitoring sensors, functional adsorption and fillers.

The two ministries plan to select a total of 100 promising Green New Deal companies (50 from the Ministry of Environment and 50 from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups) by 2022 and provide up to 3 billion won over three years from technology development to commercialization. 

Kim Young-ki, a professor at Hankyung University who attended the selection committee of the Ministry of Environment, said, "Companies should not forget the passion shown in the selection process and play a role in developing and commercializing technologies to overcome the current crisis." Kim Jong-nam, head of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology, also said, "I hope promising companies will grow into unicorn companies within 10 years." 

The award ceremony consisted of awarding the Green New Deal Promising Companies Selection and Co., Ltd. and presenting and performing best practices of two major companies, Star Tech Co., Ltd. and Daechang Solution Co., Ltd. Government and business officials appreciated the media performance, changing from a city that has turned dull due to various environmental pollution to a low-carbon, green society.

The meeting was held in the last meeting was held. Ministry of Environment and Minister of SMEs and Startups immediately responded to suggestions from company officials who attended online and offline.

"In order for excellent technology to be applied and expanded in the water industry, support from related government ministries is urgently needed," the company said. "It is difficult to find research personnel, but institutional support should be provided to small and medium-sized companies."

"Development and mass production are different issues, but the rise in the unit price of eco-friendly products is inevitable, so we should focus more on 'demand companies'," he said. "Large e-commerce can be purchased at any cost increase, but there is not enough support to induce steady demand."

Minister Han said, "The sewage or waste disposal issue is now being accepted as a new market compared to when it has fallen from public interest," adding, "We are preparing a full cycle support plan to foster small and medium-sized environmental companies." 

Minister Kwon said, "We are preparing for a significant increase in support for eco-friendly companies, including commercialization technology development projects for small and medium-sized companies."