Kolon Industries said Tuesday that it had won the Chungmugong Award at the 2026 Patent Technology Awards for its hollow fiber membrane module, a moisture control technology for fuel cells.
The awards, organized by the Ministry of Intellectual Property, recognize outstanding patents registered in South Korea within the past 10 years that have contributed to strengthening the country's industrial competitiveness. This year's ceremony was held Monday.
A moisture control device is a key component of fuel cells, maintaining optimal internal humidity to improve power generation performance and durability. Its core material, a hollow fiber membrane, consists of thin, straw-like tubes that transfer moisture to air supplied to the fuel cell stack.
Conventional moisture control devices have sought to improve humidification performance and capacity by increasing the amount of hollow fiber membranes used.
However, as membrane bundles grow larger and thicker, moisture becomes unevenly distributed, particularly in the center, reducing efficiency and durability.
Kolon Industries' hollow fiber membrane module addresses this problem by optimizing the shape and arrangement of membrane bundles to ensure uniform moisture distribution throughout the module. The technology improves humidification performance without increasing membrane usage, while also enabling smaller products and greater cost competitiveness.
Kolon Industries was the world's first company to mass-produce moisture control devices for fuel cells and has supplied them to global automakers since 2013. Its cumulative sales have exceeded 100,000 units.
"Winning this award recognizes the excellence of the hydrogen materials technology Kolon Industries has developed over more than 30 years," a company official said. "We will continue to advance our technology and strengthen our intellectual property portfolio to secure technological leadership in the global hydrogen market."
Kolon Industries traces its roots to Korea Nylon, established in 1957 as the country's first nylon producer. It was established as an independent company in 2010 through a corporate spin-off of Kolon's manufacturing business and is a key manufacturing, materials and fashion affiliate of Kolon Group.
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