Ecopro is pursuing a company-wide artificial intelligence transformation (AX) that applies AI across manufacturing sites and research and development (R&D). The company plans to adopt AI in all business divisions by 2028, its 30th anniversary. Intelligent robots will also be deployed at battery material production sites, which is expected to contribute to cost savings.
According to Ecopro on Tuesday, the company has decided to pursue a "three-stage roadmap" to transform into an AI autonomous execution company. The strategy, developed based on a partnership with Korea's top AI consulting firm, will be implemented across the entire group over three years.
Ecopro will first build the foundation of AX this year through company-wide data standardization and the execution of pilot projects, then expand the scope of application next year. By 2028, the company aims to introduce AI to all affiliates at home and abroad and become an "AI-driven company" that operates its overall business on an AI basis.
The company first plans to incorporate AI into the R&D field to reduce the time from product development to mass production by 50%. AI that has learned experimental data will predict material properties and derive optimal experimental conditions, automating large-scale experimental work. Previously, it took at least three to five years or more from product planning to mass production, but Ecopro plans to cut this in half through AI.
At production sites, the company will introduce physical AI to build autonomous manufacturing factories and autonomous laboratories. Robots will replace dangerous tasks, and a continuous work and experiment system that does not stop 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is expected to be realized. The on-site management system will be converted into an AI autonomous control environment based on a data platform and machine learning. In particular, Ecopro BM's Hungary subsidiary plans to introduce AI-based robots to pursue work automation and increase productivity.
Ecopro plans to build an AI autonomous control mother line on its precursor and cathode material sintering lines to increase manufacturing productivity by 30%. A mother line refers to the most central part of a manufacturer's production system. AI is expected to analyze and predict the causes of defects with 95% accuracy, and a data-based predictive maintenance system is expected to save energy by about 15 to 20%.
Ecopro established an AI Innovation Office through an organizational restructuring last year. The AI Innovation Office is characterized by expanding and reorganizing the functions of the existing Digital Transformation Office and fully deploying AI experts. Lee Soo-ho, vice president of Ecopro's AI Innovation Office, said, "Beyond innovating traditional manufacturing methods, we are now in an era where collaboration with AI is essential." He added, "By building an environment where employees can naturally use AI like a colleague, we plan to improve operational efficiency across the field."
