Money Today Reporter Ko Seok-yong | 2024.02.29 07:00
[스타트UP스토리]Minseong Hwang, CEO of First Lab
First Lab CEO Hwang Bo-min-seong / Photo = Reporter Ko Seok-yong “Usually surfactants are used when mixing substances that do not mix well. However, surfactants can have negative effects on the human body or the environment. First Lab mixes substances without surfactants using ultrasound. “We are developing equipment. We are receiving love calls from not only domestic but also overseas companies.” Hwang Bo-Min-seong, CEO of First Lab, explained the emulsification and dispersion equipment that the company is developing. Emulsification refers to the technology of mixing immiscible substances such as water and oil, and dispersion refers to the technology of evenly distributing solid particles in a liquid. It is a root technology that is essential for manufacturing not only consumer goods such as cosmetics, medicines, paints, and secondary batteries, but also production goods.
Typically, emulsification and dispersion equipment uses emulsifiers such as surfactants for efficiency. This is a method of preventing aggregation by reducing the surface tension of material particles with surfactants. The problem is the safety of surfactants. Even in academia, there are differing opinions on safety, but as health and environmental issues become more prominent, demand to avoid using surfactants is increasing.
CEO Hwangbo said, “First Lab can emulsify and disperse substances without using surfactants.” This is done through a technology called focusing (focusing) that turns the piezoelectric ceramic that generates ultrasonic waves into a cylindrical shape and gathers the ultrasonic waves into one place. CEO Hwangbo emphasized, “Unlike existing high-pressure emulsification and dispersion equipment, not only does it not use surfactants, but it can emulsify and disperse more precisely and uniformly than other ultrasonic equipment that is emerging as an alternative.”
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Transfer of Standard Research Institute’s ‘ultrasonic focusing technology’… Commercialization from emulsification and dispersion to water treatment
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The horizontal axis represents particle size, and the vertical axis represents uniformity. According to First Lab, the ultrasonic focused emulsification and dispersion method was found to mix substances in smaller units and mix them more uniformly than the commonly used high-pressure emulsification or high-speed stirring methods. /Photo provided by First Rap First Lab was able to develop such equipment because it is a research institute company that received the original technology, ‘ultrasonic focusing technology’, from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science). CEO Hwang Bo said, “Ultrasonic focusing is a technology that the Korea Standards Research Institute has been developing since 2008,” and added, “We are mass-producing the transferred technology with equipment in cooperation with KOSDAQ companies such as the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Technology and Dongilgi Research Institute.” Although large industrial equipment is still under development, cosmetics and pharmaceutical manufacturers are already paying attention to First Lab. Once the small research equipment was completed, not only domestic cosmetics majors but also global companies such as P&G of the United States, Stahl of the Netherlands, Resonac of Japan, and Japan Explosives requested PoC. CEO Hwangbo said, “Companies are requesting PoC first, and there is a lot of demand to improve performance by replacing surfactants in the manufacturing process.”
First Lab is also developing ‘water treatment equipment’ in addition to emulsification and dispersion equipment. Likewise, it is a device that utilizes ultrasonic focusing technology, and its key is to treat perfluorinated compounds (PFAS), which are toxic substances used in the manufacturing process of semiconductors and other products. Perfluorinated compounds are highly toxic when left in the human body even in trace amounts, and they do not decompose naturally, giving them the nickname ‘zombie compounds’. Europe is considering a complete ban starting in 2026.
CEO Hwangbo said, “The reason why perfluorinated compounds do not naturally decompose is because the bond between carbon and fluorine does not decompose,” and added, “It is possible to separate the bonded part by focusing ultrasound.” First Lab was selected for SK Eco Plant’s open innovation program with this technology in November last year and is conducting joint research and development.
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“Original technology introduced to industry again after 7 years… Success this time through rapid commercialization”
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First Lab CEO Hwang Bo-min-seong / Photo = Reporter Ko Seok-yong There was an attempt to commercialize the Korea Standards Research Institute’s ultrasonic focusing technology in 2015. Although CEO Hwangbo was not from the Standards Research Institute, he participated as a working-level member at the time. However, the start-up at the time ended in failure due to difficulties in commercialization. CEO Hwangbo re-established the business model in 2022 and attempted to start a business again in cooperation with Dongilgi, an equipment manufacturing partner. Although CEO Hwangbo is not from the Korea Standards Research Institute, the Korean Standards Research Institute decided to transfer the technology, believing in a solid commercialization plan.
CEO Hwangbo is carrying out the project with a focus on rapid commercialization as expected by the Korea Standards Research Institute. First of all, this year, we decided to begin production of large-scale equipment related to emulsification and dispersion in earnest and focus on targeting the Japanese market. We plan to enter the water treatment equipment market in earnest starting next year. For this plan, we recently began discussing attracting Pre-Series A investment with a Japanese CVC (corporate venture capital).
CEO Hwangbo said, “The failure in 2015 was not a problem with technology, but a problem in the commercialization process. Now, the demand in the related market has grown and preparations for commercialization and management have progressed further, so we will definitely prove success.”
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
