As extreme heat waves have become a daily occurrence every summer, more companies are providing 'Yangsan' as gifts and promotional items. This is because they are not only effective in avoiding the scorching heat but also expose brand images on the streets, allowing for expected marketing and publicity effects.
However, the effectiveness of Yangsan is merely a corporate 'expectation,' whether from a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or marketing perspective. This is because it is impossible to measure how much consumers actually use the Yangsan provided by companies. From the company's standpoint, maintaining or discontinuing Yangsan-related campaigns inevitably relies on the practical worker's intuition or feel.
Earth Earth, an aspiring startup being prepared by two students from Korea National University of Science and Technology (KENTECH), is developing a 'Yangsan capable of measuring usage based on solar power' to solve this problem. The method involves inserting a small module into the gift Yangsan to measure and record how much it has been used. The records are transferred to the Yangsan provider and organized as indicators such as ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance).
To measure and record usage, Earth Earth added thin-film solar cells to the sunshade part of the Yangsan and a small module to the handle. First, the thin-film solar cell (cell) sewn onto the sunshade generates an electric current simply by unfolding the Yangsan under sunlight, driving the module inside the handle. This module measures whether the Yangsan is being used with the power coming from the solar cell and supplies information on usage status to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth communication.
To meet requirements for durability, thickness, and weight, Earth Earth used CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenium) thin-film solar cells in film form that are more than 20 times thinner and lighter than existing silicon wafer-based solar cells. This is an idea utilizing the specialized technology of startup team members who graduated from KENTECH's Department of Energy Engineering.
Min Jung-yoon, an undergraduate in the Department of Energy Engineering at KENTECH leading Earth Earth, said, "While pondering and studying renewable energy as my major, I have continuously considered ways to apply renewable energy-related technologies to daily life," adding, "I conceived the startup idea by utilizing CIGS thin-film solar cells that are lightweight, flexible, and durable."
He continued, "Earth Earth aims not just to stop at Yangsan but to enable the utilization of solar cells in various places in daily life," stating, "Starting with Yangsan, we plan to challenge expanding our solutions to various areas such as building curtains and blinds, camping supplies, etc."
Earth Earth has completed the production of its first prototype and is now embarking on full-scale technology enhancement. It was also selected for the first round of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' national entrepreneurship program 'Everyone's Startup' and is currently in the second round.
Meanwhile, Earth Earth will compete as a representative student-started enterprise from KENTECH in the finals of the '5th K-Deep Tech Startup King of the Kings,' a special side event of 'Smart Energy Plus (SEP) 2026' held at Seoul COEX on the 30th of this month. In the competition, it will face student-started enterprises from KAIST, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), and POSTECH (formerly Pohang University of Science and Technology).
This King of the Kings competition, now in its fifth year, is hosted by MoneyToday's startup-specialized media platform 'Unicorn Factory' and organized by six national science and technology specialized universities with the support of the Ministry of Science and ICT. KENTECH joined this year. It was established to support the promotion of R&D (Research and Development) technology transfer and commercialization, the growth of promising deep tech startups, and the construction of a regional innovation ecosystem.
A total of 12 teams advanced to the finals, with six faculty-started enterprises and six student-started enterprises each from the six major science and technology specialized universities. Executives from Samsung Electronics C-Lab, GS Vents, L&S Venture Capital, Ecopro Partners, LB Investment, Blue Point Partners, CNTech, Series Ventures, Korea Technology Holdings, and the Research Development Special Zone Promotion Foundation will participate as judges.
One team each in the faculty-started and student-started categories will receive the Grand Prize (Minister's Award from the Ministry of Science and ICT) and a prize money of 3 million won. The Grand Prize teams will also receive additional support such as △linkage for follow-on investment and △TIPS recommendation. Two teams each in the Excellence Award and Encouragement Award categories will be awarded prizes along with prize money of 1 million won and 500,000 won, respectively.
<Application to attend the 5th K-Deep Tech Startup King of the Kings >
- Date: October 30 (Fri) 9:30~17:00
- Location: Seoul COEX Hall B PLUS STAGE
- Target: Deep tech field startups and investment VC reviewers
- Organizer: KAIST, DGIST, UNIST, GIST, POSTECH, KENTECH, MoneyToday Unicorn Factory
- Application: https://forms.gle/McNBqdiBts8RJazVA
[MoneyToday Startup Media Platform Unicorn Factory]
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