South Chungcheong Province is set to emerge as an innovation hub for mobility parts manufacturing.
The provincial government announced Tuesday that it has been selected in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's public competition for the "2026 Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AI-DfAM)-Based Mobility Manufacturing Innovation Hub Development Project." The province will build an artificial intelligence (AI)-based "mold-free additive manufacturing platform" for advanced mobility parts to meet high-value-added demand and support companies' future technological competitiveness.
Advanced manufacturing technology can simultaneously enhance product performance and manufacturing efficiency by integrating AI, additive manufacturing, and digital simulation technologies across the entire design and manufacturing process of the mobility industry. It is characterized by moving away from traditional manufacturing methods to implement a digital manufacturing environment in which design data directly connects to manufacturing processes based on a mold-free additive manufacturing system.
The advanced manufacturing technology-based mobility manufacturing innovation hub project aims to build an AI-based advanced manufacturing support ecosystem for customized manufacturing tailored to vehicle models and countries, lightweighting, and small-batch production of diverse products, as mobility parts production systems for electrified and autonomous vehicles shift toward consumer-centric models.
From this year through 2030, a total of 22.6 billion won, including 10 billion won in state funding, will be invested over five years. A full-cycle support system will be established in the Seonghwan-eup area of Seobuk-gu, Cheonan, covering everything from manufacturing design using 3D printing for future mobility parts such as drivetrains, interiors, and seats, to process demonstration, evaluation, and verification.
The province will form a consortium with the Namseoul University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Chungnam Technopark, and the Korea Automotive Technology Institute to build a manufacturing innovation center, a space for introducing and disseminating additive-based mold-free advanced manufacturing technology. It will also build equipment for mold-free additive manufacturing process demonstration and post-processing measurement evaluation, and establish a corporate support testbed through the development of AI intelligent solution software. In addition, the province will provide customized technical services, including design and analysis, parts development, and technical support, to small and medium-sized enterprises in the region, and operate education programs to cultivate specialized workforce.
The province expects the project to yield several benefits: improving the industrial structure of the future vehicle market and providing capacity for technology investment through manufacturing cost reductions; accelerating the digital transformation of manufacturing processes; securing manufacturing capabilities for complex shapes and multifunctional parts; expanding social awareness and technology acceptance of advanced manufacturing innovation; and boosting industrial vitality through an environment for shared growth between large companies and SMEs and job creation.
"This is the starting point for establishing Chungnam's AI manufacturing innovation hub to proactively respond to the structural transformation of the future mobility manufacturing industry," a provincial government official said. "We will successfully push forward the advanced manufacturing technology-based mobility manufacturing innovation hub project to make Chungnam a hub for mobility parts manufacturing innovation."
