Does Your Company Fall Within the 10 High-Carbon Industries?
Korea's low-carbon transition support for SMEs initially targets ten high-carbon industries: steel, petrochemicals, cement, oil refining, non-ferrous metals, paper, textiles, auto parts, shipbuilding, and semiconductors/displays. Roughly 67,000 small and mid-sized manufacturers fall within this scope.
Eligibility is determined two ways: by Korean Standard Industrial Classification (KSIC) code, and by site-level energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. A matching industry code with low energy usage may still rank poorly, while a company with an ambiguous classification but high emissions intensity can still qualify. Always start by checking the eligible-industry code table in the official announcement annex.
Critically, the government plans to expand the eligible pool by roughly 10% each year. Even if you are not eligible this year, building your emissions dataset and diagnostic history now means you can apply the moment coverage widens. Since data preparation alone typically takes six months or more, starting early is itself a competitive advantage.
Understanding the Three-Track Structure
Track 1 · Process Innovation — Centered on energy efficiency equipment upgrades: waste heat recovery systems, high-efficiency motors and inverters, furnace improvements, compressed-air leak remediation, and process redesign. Investment sizes are modest and reduction calculations are straightforward, making this the most accessible entry point.
Track 2 · New Technology Development — Tied to R&D in low-carbon material substitution, fuel switching, and process electrification. Technically demanding, but funding is larger, and having an in-house corporate research institute functions as a de facto requirement.
Track 3 · Business Conversion — For companies heavily dependent on high-carbon product revenue that need to shift their product lines or industry entirely. Internal-combustion parts suppliers moving into electrification components are the classic case, and results improve when the plan is designed alongside the official business conversion approval scheme.
The selection logic follows your emissions profile. If most emissions come from purchased energy such as electricity and steam (Scope 2), choose Track 1. If direct process emissions from raw materials (Scope 1) dominate, Track 2. If the problem is your product portfolio structure, Track 3.
Three Things to Prepare Before Applying
How Integrated Support Actually Flows: Consulting → Design → Equipment
The program's strength is that diagnosis through equipment installation runs as a single connected sequence.
Even with year-round intake, applying early pays off. Budgets close once exhausted, and because equipment ordering, installation, and commissioning take three to six months, a year-end selection leaves too little time to generate in-year performance results.
Checkpoints Learned from Rejections and Underperformance
Turning a Grant into Lasting ESG Performance
Your reduction record should not end with grant settlement.
Talk to KITIM
The Korea Institute of Technology Innovation Management (KITIM) supports the full path: sector-specific emissions diagnosis, process-level data decomposition, reduction roadmap development, selecting the optimal track among the three, preparing the application, and handling post-selection monitoring and performance reporting. Even if your industry is not yet covered, putting a data system in place now lets you respond immediately when eligibility expands. Contact KITIM to discuss the low-carbon transition strategy that fits your company.