Daejeon City is collaborating with the BEACONS Center at the University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) to support local defense companies in entering the U.S. market and building local production infrastructure.

※ BEACONS Center: A defense and advanced battery technology commercialization support center established at UT Dallas with the support of the U.S. Department of Defense, dedicated to supporting next-generation battery technology development and stable supply chain establishment.

On the 9th (local time), Daejeon City participated in the "Korea-U.S. Defense Supply Chain Cooperation Conference (Project PowerHouse)" held in Texas, USA, where it discussed ways for Daejeon companies to enter the local market and establish a joint Korea-U.S. supply chain with officials from the U.S. federal government, global defense companies, and the Texas local government.

The event was attended by some 40 South Korean representatives—including 11 Daejeon-based defense companies specializing in drones, batteries, and core components—along with 60 U.S. government and corporate representatives.

Notably, 9 out of the participating Daejeon companies held consultations with U.S. government officials, while 7 discussed technology/product cooperation and participation in supply chains with global defense companies. Some companies decided to continue further discussions regarding product applicability and follow-up business cooperation plans.

This cooperation is part of "Project PowerHouse" promoted by the UT Dallas BEACONS Center. The project aims to create an industrial cluster in the North Texas region where South Korean and U.S. defense companies jointly participate, building a defense supply chain linking the technologies and industrial infrastructures of both nations.

Initially, the project aims to build a supply chain focused on drone batteries and core components to reduce dependency on entities of concern such as China, with plans to expand cooperation into various advanced defense technology fields in the future.

To this end, Daejeon City discussed corporate location and utilization of industrial infrastructure, establishment of local production bases, and corporate support measures with officials from the BEACONS Center, the Texas state government, and local governments such as Dallas.

Moving forward, the city plans to strengthen cooperation among related institutions to support Daejeon companies in entering the U.S. market and to continue follow-up discussions so that they lead to substantive investments and business cooperation.

Lee Dong-guk, CEO of Duta Technology who participated in the event, stated, "With the support of Daejeon City and central government defense departments, we were able to directly introduce our technology and products to U.S. government and global defense company officials. We hope this will expand opportunities for U.S. market entry and technology/business cooperation with local companies."

Yang Seung-chan, Director of the Future Strategy Office of Daejeon City, said, "Daejeon boasts excellent research and development capabilities centered around the Daedeok Innopolis, as well as competitive companies in advanced defense fields such as drones and batteries. Taking this cooperation as an opportunity, we will actively support local companies in entering the U.S. defense market and participating in local supply chains."

He added, "We will strengthen cooperation systems with the U.S. federal government, Texas local government, and global defense companies to continuously expand overseas business opportunities for local defense companies."

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