CEO Lee Dae-young leads innovation in eco-friendly dehumidification technology
“This is the coolest summer yet,” “Energy use hits record highs”—phrases like these dominate the news every year as extreme heat becomes the norm. Global warming continues to drive up temperatures, leading people to rely longer and more heavily on cooling systems. This in turn accelerates carbon emissions, creating a vicious cycle that worsens our environment. Recognizing that lower humidity levels make the same temperature feel cooler, Humaster has developed an eco-friendly dehumidification technology that utilizes waste heat. We sat down with CEO Lee Dae-young to hear more about this breakthrough.
From Research to Commercialization
Lee Dae-young, who spent many years at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), long dreamed of seeing his research applied in real-world settings. Rather than ending with papers and patents, he wanted his innovations to truly benefit society and help make the world a better place. As part of this vision, Lee set out to develop products that could reduce greenhouse gases in a practical and sustainable way, contributing to efforts to slow global warming.
However, the core mission of a research institute is to focus on fundamental technologies, not commercialization. To bridge this gap, Lee devoted over a decade to advancing waste-heat-powered dehumidification technology while still working at KIST. In 2018, with support from KIST’s startup incubation program, he seized the opportunity to found Humaster, turning years of research into a company dedicated to eco-friendly air solutions.
Humaster’s New Material HUSORB: Redefining Air Comfort
There are two ways to make indoor air comfortable: lowering temperature or reducing humidity. Air conditioners lower temperature but have a major drawback—they create condensation, which fosters mold growth inside the unit.
Humaster CEO Lee Dae-young tackled this issue by using a desiccant-based system that absorbs moisture rather than relying on condensation. The desiccant filter captures humidity, and when combined with waste-heat drying, it creates a sustainable, eco-friendly solution.
At the heart of this technology is Humaster’s new polymer absorbent material, HUSORB, which is five times more effective than traditional silica gel. Beyond dehumidification, HUSORB delivers top-tier deodorization, antibacterial, and antifungal performance.
Integrated into the Humicon system, it not only lowers humidity while maintaining temperature but also provides ventilation, air purification, 99.9% airborne bacteria removal, and odor control. Its energy efficiency surpasses conventional top-rated products by 40%, earning Humaster a “grand slam” of certifications, including Ministry of Environment Green Certification, Ministry of Trade NET & NEP, and Ministry of SMEs Excellent Performance Certification, as well as recognition as a Korean Baby Unicorn company in 2022.
Humaster: Humidity Control for Everyone—from Earth to People
Humaster oversees the full production chain, from material development to components and equipment manufacturing, creating a vertically integrated system that serves residential, industrial, and material/component markets. This flexibility allows Humaster to adapt its solutions across diverse applications.
The Humicon, Humaster’s multifunctional dehumidification system using the HUSORB material, is suitable for homes, workplaces, hotels, and educational facilities. Recently, it has gained attention in the smart farm sector, where humidity control is crucial. Plants release moisture through transpiration, and excessive humidity can halt this process, stunting growth. Humicon provides precise humidity management, enabling optimal plant development.
Beyond dehumidification, HUSORB offers odor removal, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, achieving top-tier certifications. Leveraging these features, Humaster launched HUSHEET, a refrigerator-specific deodorizing sheet initially designed to remove kimchi odors. Its effectiveness against strong smells, including durian, enabled successful entry into overseas markets, boosting brand recognition and opening doors for Humicon installations in museum storage facilities.
Globally, regions like Southeast Asia and the U.S. West Coast represent large markets needing humidity management. Humaster is focusing on these opportunities while expanding into industrial applications. High humidity in secondary battery production can increase defects or cause safety hazards, such as fire or explosion, particularly in lithium-ion environments. Traditional air conditioning alone is insufficient, and conventional moisture filters require high temperatures for regeneration, creating inefficiencies. Humicon addresses these challenges by providing energy-efficient, precise humidity control tailored for industrial processes.
A New Way to Utilize Heat
As global warming intensifies and temperatures rise, avoiding air conditioners is virtually impossible. Humaster’s CEO is therefore rethinking the air-conditioning paradigm. Inspired by the idea of “fighting heat with heat,” Humaster introduces a new approach to managing temperature using heat itself.
While some remain skeptical about this innovative method, the CEO emphasized the company’s progress: “Humaster has already achieved 12 billion KRW in sales. While that may not seem huge, its significance lies in the market’s recognition of our technology and its value to people.”
He also highlighted future prospects, noting that through the KIST Scale-up Technology Commercialization Program, Humaster aims to successfully penetrate niche markets, expand product functionalities, enhance price competitiveness, and eventually enter the mainstream market.
Same temperature, no humidity. Humicon features desiccant technology that helps maintain optimal humidity at 40%. It also includes air purification and ventilation functions, ensuring fresh and clean indoor air.
Huzero is an industrial dehumidifier designed for low-temperature and extremely low-humidity environments to improve factory productivity, offering energy efficiency 60% higher than existing market products.
Husheet is an innovative and patented technology, ultra-slim dehumidifier that can control humidity as well as deodorizing. It also has dehumidifying, deodorizing, antibacterial, and anti-fungal functions.
Protect your valuable clothes and belongings from humidity with Huspot, a desiccant dehumidifier designed specifically for dressing rooms in your home. Huspot effectively removes moisture from bathrooms and other areas using advanced desiccant technology, and safely release the humidity outside. Therefore, it is not neccessary to empty a water tank, install pipes, or worry about water leaks. Huspot can be installed on the ceiling, allowing you to maximize the use of your dressing room space while maintaining an optimal humidity level for your clothes and accessories. Keep your dressing room fresh and humidity-free with Huspot.
